Tänk, det känns som vi
by LorelaiGilmore82
Summary: This is a sequel to Amor, vida de mi vida. So you might read that first. Gibbs and the team go to Sweden to visit the Swedish Secret Service and to attend Moa's Wedding. And they might come in handy. TIVA, DieMo
1. Sweden here we come!

Hey guys, I am back as I promissed! I hope you enjoy this sequel to "Amor vida de mi vida" For those who haven´t read "Amor vida de mi vida" I think you can understand this here without having read the other. But it might be easier, if you know what happend before and of cauce who Moa and Diego are.

So Moa and Diego are back. Tänk, det känns som vi means something like: You know, it feel just like us!

Thanks to **rednebdnim **for beta! And** paragondragon **för överstättning!

**Disclaimers: Most of this is not mine, but Moa and Diego are!**

Enjoy Lorelai

--

She stepped out into the chilly September morning. The sun was already shining and it promissed to be jet another warm late summer day. She turned around and faced the love of her life.

"You really didn't have to get up this early."

"But I wanted to. We'll have breakfast down at Stortorget and then you'll go to work and I'll just have a nice morning in the city." He kissed her on the nose.

"Okay. Convinced!" She grinned.

They sat at their usual table in the corner, overlooking the nice old market place.

"When will they come?" He asked her; gently wiping some cream from the hot chocolate off her lips.

"Lufthansa from Frankfurt. 0330am. But you don't have to come with me. I know you have to sing the next day."

"Are you sure? I could..."

"No. That's sweet, but you need to sleep. You know that." She touched his cheek.

"Yes, I guess you're right." He admitted.

"I'll pick them up and bring them to the hotel. And they will all probably be tired. So there´s not much to do."

"You're happy?" He asked somehow being concerned.

"Yes! I am!" She smiled from ear to ear. "And I am very happy that they are all coming."

"Yes, me too." He kissed her. "We're going to have a great time!"

She nodded. She knew they would.

--

He looked at her, how she was lost in her sleep. She wrinkled her nose in a way that he knew to mean she was dreaming. Five weeks they had shared each others life's. Only five weeks and he couldn't recall how it had been without her. How he had gone to sleep and woken up, without her by his side.

Not that it had been easy. They both had been very aware of the fact that they were not used to share a life with someone else, the way they did now. There had been small fights about toothpaste tubes, about socks that were spread all over the apartment and big ones about more momentous topics, about their pasts, about the future.

Sometimes he had the feeling she still kept him at arm´s length about something away. She was more open than she had been ever before, but still she didn't seem to trust him completely. There was something she hid from him and it hurt. Him and her. Every time he tried to talk about it, she was avoiding him. Telling him, that it was all new to her and she just need time to get used to it, but he knew that there was more.

He knew it because of the many nights she woke up with a scream, drenched in sweat. Her eyes glaring at something only she could see. She never talked about the nightmares that came to visit her so many nights. She just crawled up in his arms as if to hide from the whole world. He would hush words gently into her ear and tried to be all that she needed.

It were only this wee small hours of the night when she allowed herself to be weak. It was then he realized that there was a lot more going on in her than she admitted and told him. Ghosts of the past that wouldn't let her rest. That wouldn't let her feel safe. Not in life and not in this relationship they were sharing.

The other day he had brought up the topic about getting a bigger apartment together. And she had freaked out again, about rushing things. He tried to reassure her, telling her he wasn't thinking about a house again. Just an apartment that was theirs and not like she used to referred to; his.

It seemed to be such a natural and easy thing for him. He really wanted it. And she had tried to tell him he was too eager about all of this, that he had changed. And that she didn't want him to change for her. The truth was he wanted to change, not only for Ziva but for himself. He had never felt this good in his whole life. He had found his place. And he didn't plan on ever giving it up again.

He studied her carefully one last time, before he closed his eyes.

--

"Abby what do you need all these suitcases for?" McGee asked kind of shocked.

"Well, McGee! First: I've never been to Sweden. So I want to be prepared!" She stated as a matter of fact.

"But we're only going for two weeks!" McGee tried to argue.

"McGee!!" Abby shrieked unbelieving how he could not see the point. "We are going to Sweden! We are going to work with SÄPO for a week and... ." She prolougated it. "We're going to a wedding."

"Okay, okay!" McGee waved his hands in an obedient manner. "I'll just put them in the car."

"Thanks, McGee!" Abby smiled. He could be a real sweetheart sometimes.

Abby climbed into the car next to McGee and grinned from ear to ear. "I'm so exited!" She exclaimed and clapped her hands together.

"What a surprise!" McGee mumbled. Since the invitation had arrived five weeks earlier, she barley had talked about anything else. Oh yes she did, about Tony and Ziva.

First it was planned to be a one week visit but then the director of SÄPO had suggested that NCIS could visit his agency and do some exchange. So they were now scheduled for a week in Stockholm and then they would drive to Moa´s hometown and spent a week with her and her family and of course attend the wedding.

He was exited too, he had to admit. He'd never been to Stockholm or Sweden at all and it seemed to be a great city with a lot to see and do. He hoped they would have time to do some sightseeing.

"So exited, so exited!" Abby continued to sing. And McGee couldn't help but smile. He just hoped she would calm down, once they were on the plane.

--

Ziva slowly awoke and blinked into the sun. She glanced at the alarm clock and wanted to snuggle against Tony again, when she suddenly realized what time it was.

"Tony!" She shouted and pulled at his shoulders.

"Mmmmh. What is it?" He mumbled still half a sleep.

"We overslept! It's already 7:30!" She jumped out of bed and headed for the bathroom.

"Noooo. It can't be 7:30. I'm much too tir ... Damn! It's 7:30!" He screamed and jumped into action.

"Gibbs will kill us!" Ziva stated while brushing her teeth."

Tony just nodded. And he would be the first to suffer!

"Why didn't you set the alarm clock?" Ziva wanted to know, while they ran down the stairs towards the car. "I'll drive!" She signalled him to hand her the keys.

"You wanted to!" Tony defended himself, while tossing the keys over to her.

"Definitely not!" She answered.

"Ha!" Was his reply, before he was pressed into the passenger seat when Ziva sped of.

"What does that mean?" She grunted. She was really getting angry. She was never late. And she was damn sure, that he wanted to set the alarm clock.

"Nothing!" He mumbled and then they fell into an uncomfortable silence.

--

20 minutes later Ziva and Tony burst trough the terminal doors and headed towards the check-inn.

"Number 48!" Tony said, after looking at their ticket and the display panel.

"Over there!" Ziva pointed at the end of the row. "There's McGee!" She exclaimed and rushed over to their two co-workers.

They cut in line and breathless stopped beside McGee and Abby.

"Where were you?" McGee looked at them.

"Tony forgot to set the alarm clock!" Ziva said.

"I did not. You did!" He wanted to start an argument when the woman at the counter asked for their tickets.

"I don't think, Gibbs will care who did it!" McGee said.

"Where is he anyway?" Ziva wanted to know while reaching for her boarding card.

"With Ducky and the director already through security check." Abby answered. "Guys I'm so exited!" She shrieked again.

"We know Abby!" McGee grinned at her. "But now we need to hurry a bit."

All four of them ran towards the security checkpoint. They showed their badges and were lucky to be led towards an extra line and could head towards their gate five minutes later.

--

"Where the hell have you been?" Gibbs voice echoed through the corridor, while he glared at Tony and Ziva.

Both knew better than to answer the question and just stepped forward and let Gibbs head slap them.

"Now, get on the plane!" He commanded and they all did as told.

"I'm curious what they will say at SÄPO, about your techniques." Jenny grinned at him. "Not that you would care."

"Right, I don't care! Gibbs smirked and followed the others on board.

--

"I'll take the window seat!" Tony exclaimed and nearly jumped into the seat, while Ziva took a seat a couple of rows ahead.

"I thought you two wanted to sit together." McGee asked irrigated.

"I'd rather not." Came Ziva´s cold reply. "Abby?" She signalled Abby to sit down beside her.

"Yay!" She screamed. "Gosh, I´m exited! And no Caff Pows on board."

Everybody rolled their eyes while McGee had to sit beside Tony.

Gibbs, Jenny and Ducky had watched the whole conversation and now started to walk to the other end of the plane.

"Hey boss, where are you going?" Tony wanted to know.

"Oh, a place where only grown-ups are allowed." He smirked and turned around.

"He's talking of the business class!" Jenny explained and followed him.

"Well, I guess we see you later!" Ducky concluded and was gone with the others.

"They are kidding me! McGeek! Tell me they are kidding me!" He looked at McGee.

"I don't think so, Tony!"

"Why do we have to fly economy and they... Ah, never mind." Tony stopped half way though his outburst. "That's going to be nice Probie! Just you, me and the hot stewardess." Tony laughed.

"Don't you think Ziva can hear you?" McGee looked at him kind of disgusted.

"I hope so, Bambino. I hope so!"

Who's bambino here, McGee thought to himself.

--

Truth to be told. He didn't care for the stewardess. He did not even look at her, when she offered them refreshments. All he wanted to do was to make Ziva jealous. He knew that this was childish, but he couldn't help it. He had to do it. He was still angry about the alarm clock. Why did it always have to be his fault? Okay, mostly it was. But this time he was sure that he was not guilty.

Ziva starred out of the window, while they already were over the Atlantic. God, he could be an idiot sometimes. She had to smile. She loved that about him. Maybe she had been a little bit two hard to him. And she really wasn't sure about the alarm clock anymore. After all it had been a heated night. Her smile widened.

Abby had bought about ten different travel guides for Stockholm and Sweden, she even had tried to learn some Swedish words. And mumbled them as often as possible. She handed one of the guides to Ziva.

"What do you want to see?" She asked.

"Heh?"

"In Stockholm? Where do you want to go?"

"Haven't thought about that yet." She admitted.

"Well I did, and I think we should definitely go to some of the museums and to Drottningholm!"

"What's that?" Ziva wanted to know.

"That's where the royal family lives. And we need to see the Skansen, the worlds oldest open air museum."

"Yes, that sounds all interesting! I'll go where ever you want." Ziva yawned and closed her eyes. Maybe she could get some sleep.


	2. Up, up, and away

Hi everybody. Thanks for the reviews, story alerts etc. On we go. Hope you all will like Stockholm and Sweden!

Thanks to **rednebdnim **for beta.

**Disclaimers: **The usal!

Enjoy xox Lorelai

--

She was not sure if Abby talked to her or if she was just mumbling to herself, but she was bubbling, bubbling, and bubbling, bubbling.

„Abby!! " Ziva nearly screamed, which earned her some displeased looks of the other passengers.

„Mmmh?", Abby looked at her, with big eyes.

„Could you just be quiet for ten minutes? I'm trying to catch some sleep here!" This came out more unfriendly than she had planned it to be. And Abby was immediately offended by Ziva´s words.

„You could have just told me in a normal way!" She mumbled.

Ziva sight, „I'm sorry, Abby! I didn't mean it. It's just..."

„Tony!", Abby concluded.

„Yes!", Ziva hissed between her teeth, „I mean he drives me up the road sometimes!"

„Wall!", Abby corrected.

„Yes!", Ziva agreed, „That too!"

„And now?", Abby gave her a questioning look. She thought fighting over an alarm clock was the most stupid thing she ever heard. She eyed Ziva carefully and noticed that her mood seemed to lighten up.

„Now ...", Ziva started to grinned, „There's only one thing I can think about!"

--

Tony starred at McGee in disbelieve. He was fast asleep and snored. His head slightly bend back, his mouth open. It was disgusting, Tony thought. And for a moment he was thinking about putting something into McGee's mouth, but he would probably spit it out and it would land on Tony, so he forgot about that.

Yet another problem came to Tony's mind. He really needed to visit the restrooms. But he was stuck between the window and McGee.

„Hey McGee?!", He hissed, but got no reaction, „McGee!?", He tried again louder, still McGee didn't move.

Tony placed is mouth near McGee's ear and barked: „Attention on deck!"

McGee nearly jumped out of his seat. Needing some time to recall where he was, „What was that about!", he glared finally at Tony.

„Just need to take my little DiNozzo for a walk." Tony grinned and stepped by McGee, heading towards the restroom.

When he passed Ziva and Abby he shortly glanced at them. He caught Ziva´s eyes and instead of an angry stare he expected, he saw a mischievous smile creeping around her face.

"What is this crazy chick up to now?", he mumbled to himself.

He was just about to shut the door, when he saw Ziva´s foot blocking it. Before he could do anything about it, Ziva had locked them into the cabin.

„Uh, Ziva!", he got out somehow, fear showing in his eyes.

She just grinned and pressed her body a little bit more against his, feeling him respond immediately.

Realization kicked in and Tony flashed her one of his best smiles. „And the alarm clock?" He asked coyly.

„Forget about the alarm clock!", she whispered while nibbling at his ear.

„Ah!", was all Tony got out before he lifted her up and placed her on the vanity and eagerly started to kiss her. The toilet seat pushed against his knee and so he tried to reposition himself, which nearly caused them to stumble over each other.

„We're penned in like mackerels!", Ziva giggled.

„Sardines, Ziva. You cannot pen in mackerels!", he mumbled between kisses.

„Anyway!", she sighed, while she fumbled with his belt.

--

In the meanwhile McGee had taken the seat beside Abby and studied her travel guides. From time to time he starred at the occupied sign ahead of them.

„What are they doing so long?", he wondered.

Abby gave him a look, like that was the most stupid thing he had ever said. „Guess! What are they doing. Alone! In the restroom?", she joshed him and then saw him blushing in various shades of red.

Ten minutes later Ziva and Tony returned from their little adventure. Her hair was slightly messy, both their cheeks glowing and both wore a satisfied grin on their faces.

McGee just stayed where he was, knowing that Ziva now would _rather_ sit beside Tony.

--

„What do you think they're doing over there?", Jenny pointed towards the economy class.

„I don't want to know!", Gibbs stated plainly while glancing at Ducky who was lost in his Time Magazine.

„Why do I have the feeling this all will end as kind of a class trip, where we are going to be the bad teachers?", she asked him.

„Because...!", he turned to look at her, „They tend to behave like teenagers!", he smirked.

„Great! I thought you taught them better.", Jenny teased him.

"Oh, I did!", he answered and then gave her a look like it was all her fault.

"Don't give me that look Jethro! You should be grateful that I saved you!"

"Saved me?", he cocked one eyebrow, "How's that?"

"You're flying business class, aren't you?" She smiled at him.

Gibbs just nodded and let out a small laugh. She was right, when she was right.

--

Moa paced in front of the arrival area at Årlanda Airport Stockholm. She glanced at her watch and back to the display panel. They should have been out already. Their plane had landed an hour ago. What could take them so long. Had they not been on the plane?

Moa noticed one of the many custom officials and walked towards him.

„Ursäkta.", She tried to get his attention.

The man turned around and smiled at her: „Hej! Vill du ha hjälp?", he asked her, offering his help.

„Ja! Jag väntar på åtta NCIS agenter från Washington D.C.", she tried to explain that Gibbs and his team hadn't left the arrival area yet.

„Ah!", the man nodded knowingly, „Och vem är du?"

Moa pulled out her ID and showed it to him, „SÄPO!"

„Dina gäster?", he wanted to know if she was expecting them.

„Javisst!"

„Okay, kommer med mig!", he led her through the automatic doors and brought her to a restricted area. Moa could already hear the director arguing with someone about their current situation, but couldn't understand what this was all about, when she approached them.

Abby was the first to notice Moa and wanted to run towards her, but was held back by one of the security guards.

„Det är okay!", the man who had accompanied Moa said and his colleague let Abby pass.

„Moa!", she shrieked and through herself into her arms, „I'm so glad to see you!"

„Me too, me too!", she shrieked back until she realized that there was obviously still a problem to solve.

„What's the problem?", she asked the man in charge in English so that everyone could follow the conversation.

„These!", he pointed towards the set of Sigs that were displayed on a table.

„Oh, that's okay. They're are federal agents from the United States and are here for an exchange with SÄPO.", she explained, one more time showing her ID.

He nodded in agreement and then looked at the NCIS agents in front of him. „In this case I apologize for the inconvenience and welcome you to Stockholm!" He smiled at them. Happy that this had been solved. He was a little bit surprised by this mix of people. And they shall all be feds? Interesting, he thought to himself.

"Wow, that was easy now!", Jenny said surprised, when she hugged Moa.

"Yes. That's Sweden!", Moa grinned and continued to hug the rest of the team. She was just glad that they all had arrived safely.

"Where's Palmer?", she suddenly asked, realizing that he was missing.

"He asked me to tell you, that he apologizes, but his mother is ill and he needs to take care of her!", Ducky explained.

"Oh. I hope it's nothing serious?", Moa asked worried.

"No. Don't worry. She'll be fine.", Ducky reassured her.

"Good. Then let me bring you to your hotel. And tuck you to bed. You look tired!"

Moa shoved them into the two taxis waiting outside and told the drivers to take them to the Grand Hotel.

--

It was five o'clock in the morning when they finally arrived at their destination. They got their keys and said goodnight to Moa, who would pick them up at noon to show them the city. They weren't expected at SÄPO before the next day.

It took them all barley ten minutes to fall into their beds and drift to sleep. All but Ziva who lay popped up on her elbows and looking at Tony. She didn't know why she felt like she felt. Something was gnawing at her. And the worst thing about it was that she couldn't put a name on it. She couldn't locate it. It was somewhere deep down inside of her. Something she had kept hidden for so long. It was driving her crazy. She sighed. Carefully she traced the outline of his lips. She didn't want to wake him. God, she loved him. But what she saw in his eyes scared her to death. He looked at her as if she was the most wonderful woman in the world. And it took her breath away, when he did so. But at the same time she felt like something was cording up her throat. What if she couldn't be that woman. What if he saw more in her than there really was. She was good at hiding her feelings. Gosh, she had done it her whole life. But now they seemed to overwhelm her. Taking every self control and defense with them. She barely recalled her last relationship. When had she been really close to someone. Not just an affair but a real relationship. She couldn't recall. Maybe she never had one. And now there was Tony. And she wanted it so badly. But she wasn't just like any other woman. She had tons of emotional baggage to carry around. And he didn't even know half of it. Maybe she had taken this too easy. A single tear escaped her eye and she wiped it away. Looking one more time at Tony she sighed and closed her eyes.

--

It was in the morning when they met for breakfast at the dining room that they first came to realize that they weren't staying at any hotel, but in a five star noble resort.

"Did you see that?!", Tony stumbled while pointing to one of the conference rooms.

"Yes!", Ziva laughed at how he could be so fascinated by the old interior.

"I mean where are we? Is this the Royal Palace?", he asked half joking, half taking it into consideration.

"No Tony. This is the Grand Hotel." McGee explained. "First Hotel in town. It was built in 1874. You have a fantastic view over the harbour, old town and the Royal Palace. Today, the Grand Hotel belongs to an exclusive group of purveyors of goods and services to the Royal Household and ...!", he didn´t get to finish his sentence.

"Did you sleep at all?", Tony interrupted him.

"It's what I call background-check up!", McGee stated proudly.

"You didn't even know that we would be in this hotel!" Tony stared at him.

"Always be prepared!" McGee grinned and followed Tony and Ziva to the table at the window where Gibbs, Abby, Jenny and Ducky already enjoyed the view.

"Good morning everybody!", Tony greeted them cheerfully and then to everyone's surprise pulled out Ziva´s chair and let her have a seat.

"Thanks!", She stumbled slightly irritated by his gallant behaviour.

They looked across the water towards the Royal Palace and Abby tried to find something about it in one of travel guides, but got interrupted by the waiter who offered them a million of delicious things. They were all more than filled up, when Moa arrived at their table and greeted them cheerfully.

"God morgon!", She squealed, "Read to go?"

--

Swedish Lesson:

Ursäkta: Excuse me  
Hej!: Hello  
Vill du ha hjälp?: May I help you?  
Ja: Yes  
Jag väntar på åtta NCIS agenter från...: I´m waiting for eight NCIS agents from ...  
Och vem är du?: And who are you?  
Dina gäster?: Your guests?  
Javisst: Exactly  
Kommer du med mig: Come with me.  
Det är okay: It´s okay


	3. The great Chuck Norris

So guys on we go. Hope you like Stockholm so far. I have to admit I fell in love with it at first sight.

Again I put my hands together for **rednebdnim **for beta!

**Disclaimers: **I´m just a worm ...

R&R please! I´m addicted to reviews!

--

Moa lead them over a bridge to a small island. Again they had a fantastic view of the Royal Palace. They leaned against the bridges balustrade and let their view wander.

"Over there you see the Royal Opera House!", Moa pointed towards a late renaissance building to the right of the Palace, "That's were Diego will sing tonight.", she explained further.

"Is he already there?", Abby asked.

"Yes. There's a last minutes costume change. Otherwise he would have come with us. That reminds me of asking you if someone wants to see the premiere of Gounods 'Romeo et Juliet' tonight!"

"I would be delighted!", Ducky immediately stated, he had hoped for this opportunity.

"I had that figured out!", Moa grinned, "Someone else?"

"Yes! I would love to come.", Jenny said, smiling towards Ducky.

"Me too!", everybody stared at Gibbs. "What?!", he exclaimed, "I just don't want to spend the evening with you!", he pointed at the younger people around him.

"Okay, great! I´ll call Diego later and tell him. And I have an idea what we could do while they are at the opera.", she gestured towards Gibbs, Jenny and Ducky, "And then we can all meet later tonight.", she concluded.

Everybody nodded in agreement and followed her on the way to a little boats pier.

"That island over there is Djurgården. It used to be the royal hunting ground. But now it shelters the National Park, various museums like Junibacken, which is a museum about Astrid Lindgrens stories and books, Gröna Lund which is an amusement park and the Skansen. And since the weather is so fantastic, I thought I'll show you a bit about the Swedish culture.", Moa explained to them.

"Yay!", Abby shrieked, "That's going to be fun!"

They boarded the ferry which brought them over to Djurgården. After a short walk they reached the entrance of Skansen and followed Moa into the 'reconstruction' of Sweden and its culture and tradition. Little farm houses, shops with Swedish food and many local animals like bears, mooseBP1 , wolves, luxes, seals and reindeers were to be seen. Abby couldn't get enough of three small bears who shared their bawn with their mother and a little fox and they all were playing around wildly, hunting each other, where the fox tried not to get into the line of fire.

"Aren't they cute, McGee?!", She shrieked pulling at his arm. McGee winced slightly and stepped forward to Abby.

"One's name is BjörnBP2 .", he stated after reading a sign, which caused Moa to laugh, "What?!", McGee looked at her.

"Björn is the Swedish word for bear.", she explained still laughing.

"So the guy from ABBA is called bear?", McGee frowned at her.

Moa nodded, "Yes, but don't look at me like that, when there are children out there who are called Apple-Peach or whatever."

From the top of a look-out they had a wonderful view over the whole city. Stockholm had been built on 14 islands between the East Sea and the Mälar Lake.

"A lot of water!", Gibbs stated plainly, a glow in his eyes telling that he liked this city.

"Afraid to get wet, boss.", Tony teased and grinned but stopped when Gibbs shot him a warning glare.

"If Gibbs falls into the water, the water becomes Gibbs!" Abby said out of nowhere. Almost everyone looked at her, confused. Only Tony started laughing.

"Hey, since when do you like Chuck Norris?", Tony exclaimed.

"Are you kidding me Tony?", Abby looked at him wide-eyed, "Chuck Norris jokes are the best jokes in the world!"

"I Totally agree! Did you know this one: Chuck Norris doesn't read books, he stares them down until he gets the information he wantsBP3 !"

Abby shrieked, "Or: Chuck Norris does not sleep. He waits!"

Tony even laughed harder: "Or: Chuck Norris once shot an enemy plane down with his finger, by yelling, 'Bang!'"

Abby was now holding her stomach from laughing, when she said, "I have one more: When the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night he checks his closet for Chuck Norris."

Tony and Abby were now holding onto each other, while trying to get out the next joke. The rest just stood around them and stared. What was so funny about Chuck Norris jokes?

"Don't you think.", Tony was trying to breathe, "That Gibbs is a lot like Chuck Norris, just without the roundhouse kicks.", he finally got out. The look in Abby's eyes made him stop immediately, "He's right behind - Outch! - Thank you, boss! Deserved that one!", he mumbled, rubbing the back of his head.

Having this settled they all moved on, while Ziva stepped beside Tony and placed a light kiss on the back of his head.

"Always told you Chuck Norris would get you into trouble, yes!", she grinned at him.

"Heh?!" Tony and Abby shared on last little grin and then followed the other down the stairs.

--

After three hours of walking around they sat at a nice, little market place in the centre of the whole museum area . Abby, Ziva, Moa and Jenny all sucked satisfied on their candy cane, while the men all tried the famous Swedish elk meat.

"I have to say, this tastes not as bad as I had expected it to!", Tony stated and took another bite, earning nods from the rest.

"So where are we going next?", Abby asked Moa exited.

Moa glanced at her watch. "I think we still have time to go to Junibacken. And afterwards I would bring you back to the hotel. Then you have still enough time to rest and get changed for the opera."

They all agreed and fifteen minutes later they were all seated in little cabins that would drive them through the wonderful world of Astrid Lindgren. They met Ronia the Robber's Daughter, The Brother Lionheart, Pippi Longstocking, Madita, Emil, Karlsson and many more. And as sure as this museums was made for children in the first place, it still didn't miss the effect on the grownups. Being reminded of the good childhood memories they all left the museum cheerfully, chatting about long forgotten events from the past. The mood was light, when they took the historical cable car back to the hotel.

Ziva sat at the back of the wagon and looked out of the window. No one but Moa seemed to notice Ziva´s shift of mood. She wondered what was bothering her. She would have asked her if they had been alone. Didn't she like Stockholm? Did she want to go home? Moa had really hoped, that they all would enjoy their stay here. She sight-grinned at AbbyBP4 who was telling her a funny story of dyeing her hair red when she was younger, just to look like Pippi Longstocking. But she didn't miss the glance Ziva through at all of them and then let her view rest on Tony. BP5 With a sigh she looked back out of the window.

Did her and Tony have a fight, Moa wondered? She hadn't noticed anything in their behaviour to each other before, but it definitely must have had something to do with Tony, Moa concluded. But then she could have head slapped herself. This was none of her business and so she turned her attention back to the others, leaving Ziva to her thoughts.

--

When Moa left them at the hotel they agreed that she would pick them up at 0730pm to guide Jenny, Ducky and Gibbs to the opera and to take the others to the Bern's, one of the best restaurants and bars in town. Later they would meet Diego, Ducky, Gibbs and Jenny at the Opera Club.

She strolled back to her apartment which was only a short walk away when she noticed someone sitting in a taxi that stopped at a red light. The face seemed to be familiar to her, but she couldn't put a name to it. She was about to approach the car to have a better look, when the lights switched to green and the taxi sped off. She shrugged the awkward feelings that crept up aside and continued on her way home.

--

Tony let himself fall onto the bed and sighed heavily.

"That was nice, wasn't it?", he glanced at Ziva.

"Mmmh.", she nodded and walked into the bathroom.

"Are you alright?", Tony called to her a little bit worried. She was again in this strange mood.

"Yes! Just tired!", she answered through the half closed bathroom door, "I'm taking a shower!", she added and ended Tony's fantasies of joining her by closing the bathroom door.

Tony stared at the closed door. He need to find out what was bothering her. He knew she tried to hide it, but she looked run-down and lost recently and he had the feeling it had something to do with him. He inhaled deeply and then closed his eyes. A short nap might be just what he needed.

Ziva stood under the warm water and let it run down her body. She didn't move. She just stood there. She tried to concentrate on her breathing, why did it seem so hard to breathe for her lately? She counted to three and inhaled and three seconds later exhaled again. But she still had the feeling that nothing had arrived in her lungs. She tried again. But nothing happened. It took all her willpower not to panic. She leaned against the wall and slowly slid down to ground, water pouring over her head. The water was hot, but still she shivered, pulling her arms around her legs to keep herself warm. What was wrong with her? She closed her eyes.

She didn't know how long she had sat like this, but eventually she got up and stepped out of the shower. Putting a towel around her she stepped out of the bathroom and looked at a sleeping Tony. She sat beside him on the bed, careful not to wake him and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. She crawled up beside him and placed one of his arms around herself. His grip tightened immediately, although she was sure he still was fast asleep. She placed her head on his chest listening to the steady beat of his heart, a sound which never failed to calm her. She nuzzled even closer and took a deep breath. This time her lungs filled with the much needed air.

"I love you!", she whispered and then closed her eyes.

--

"Hej Diego!", Moa smiled into the telephone.

"Hola!", Diego replied, "How was your day so far?", he asked eager to know.

"Great. We've been to Skansen and Junibacken. And I'm sure they really liked it!"

"That's good to hear.", he was glad she was enjoying this so much.

"Oh and Ducky, Gibbs and Jenny all want to come tonight!", she added.

"Gibbs?", Diego was surprised.

"Don't ask me! He doesn´t want to go out with us."

"I see.", he laughed, "Anything else?"

She hesitated. "No. Everything's fine!", she finally stated.

"Are you sure? You sound worried.", he asked.

"Worried? No, maybe tired.", she offered.

"Okay, then I´ll see you guys later. Tickets are at the stage door. Te quiero!", and with that he hung up.

Moa looked at the receiver in her hand, feeling somehow guilty, should she have told him about the taxi guy? But then again. What was there to tell. She didn't even know who it been. Probably nobody. She didn't need to bother him with it. It surely was nothing.


	4. Out on the town

Okay on we go. I think you regonized so far that I love Stockholm. But let me say, it´s all true what I´m writing. And it all does really exist. Nothing´s made up here, regarding to the locations.

Please R&R

Big thanks to **rednebdnim** for beta and more Chuck Norris jokes.

Oh and for all who read my little M-rated weather fluff stuff. I have snow in my mind! ;-)

--

As Tony awoke, something was tickling his nose. He opened his eyes to see strand of hair placed on his chest that was not his own. He smiled to himself and then realized that his t-shirt was slightly wet. She must have forgotten to dry her hair. He smelled the unique scent of her hair, something that wouldn't stop to amaze him.

His one arm was holding her tight to him, while his other hand started to play with her hair. She stirred slightly in his arms and slowly opened her eyes. His smile grew even wider when he locked eyes with her.

„Hi there!", he whispered.

„Hi!", she mumbled still sleepy and a smile playing around her lips. Her dark thoughts of earlier now forgotten, she rolled on top of him, folded her arms on his chest and popped her chin on top of it how she used to do so often.

„What?! ", he asked her, noticing the mischievous glint in her eyes.

„I'm just wondering what Chuck Norris would do in this kind of situation. ", she grinned.

Tony cocked one eyebrow and looked at her, „Heh? "

She brought up her knee and traced it along his inner thigh, causing him to shiver.

„Oh that kind of situation! ", he grinned even wider and in one swift movement he had freed her of the towel that had been wrapped around her body and turned them around, him now being on top.

„I'm impressed Mr. Norris! ", Ziva giggled, but was stopped by Tony's lips crushing down on hers. She responded eagerly, opening her mouth to allow him more access, her hands were pulling his shirt over his head and tossing it somewhere on the floor while Tony kissed his way down between her breasts. Ziva unbuckled his belt and was tucking at his jeans, both so lost in each other and in the heat of the moment that they overheard the knocking at the door.

„Uah! Sorry! I'm aaaah. Waiting outside! ", McGee stumbled and slammed the door shut behind him. Ziva who had covered her self with a pillow, when she had seen McGee standing in their doorway looked at Tony and then burst into laughter.

„You might want to go and ask him what he wanted! ", she got out between giggles.

Tony nodded and got up, getting his shirt from the floor and pulling it on he stepped into the hotel corridor.

„Tony, I'm... I mean. I didn't ...see, well I did, but...! ", McGee stumbled in front of an amused Tony.

„Calm down McPrude! It's alright. But next time you should just knock. ", Tony mustered all his will power not to laugh at the poor figure of McGee.

„I did knock! ", he insisted, „But you wouldn't answer! "

„Tell you what Timmy!", Tony smirked while talking to McGee like he was a two year old, „Next time you knock and we don't answer you just go and come back...", he paused, „Let's say two hours later."

„Two hours!" McGee exclaimed shocked.

"Oh that's just the beginning. " Tony grinned, „Anyway, what do you want? ", Tony focused back on the reason why he was standing out on the hotel corridor rather than messing the sheets on the bed with Ziva.

„We are all waiting for you downstairs. Moa will come any minute. "McGee explained.

Tony glanced at his watch. It really was already quarter past seven.

„We'll be right down! ", he told McGee and disappeared back into his room, where Ziva still lay seductively between the covers.

He climbed onto the bed and lowered himself over her, kissing her gently on the lips.

„We have to postpone this! ", he said, regret showing in his eyes. „They are all waiting for us downstairs. Sorry! "

„You will make it up to me, yes? ", she blinked at him with dark and passionate eyes.

„Oh, yeah!"

--

Ten minutes later Ziva and Tony stepped into the foyer. She was wearing a beautiful dark blue dress, while Tony was clad in dark trousers and a dark blue shirt that matched Zivas dress.

The rest of the team was seated in one of the sitting corners, greeting them, all but McGee who desperately avoided Zivas gaze, which she found rather amusing.

Shortly after, Moa entered the foyer smiling brightly. They made their way towards the opera. Moa had already picked up the tickets and now handed them to Gibbs, Jenny and Ducky.

"We'll pick you up later. Just go the stage door after the opera is over, it's just on the other side of the building. Diego will wait there for you. "Moa instructed them further. They all wished each other a nice evening and then went their separate ways.

Moa lead Tony, Ziva, Abby and McGee back into the direction of the Grand Hotel and then further up a small street. They walked in a comfortable silence, when Abby pulled at Moa's arm.

"Moa?! "

"Yes?! ", Moa was slightly amused by Abby's look, "What's wrong?", she asked.

"Can I go like this?", she pointed towards herself.

Moa did not understand. Abby looked totally herself. Black mini skirt, frightening high heeled boots, pig tails and a red shirt with a skull on it.

"What do you mean?", Moa asked irritated.

"Can I go like this? I don't really match your or Ziva's beautiful summer dresses.", she explained.

Now Moa did understand what Abby was worried about. "Don't worry Abby you look just perfect!", she gave a reassuring smile and linked her arm with hers.

They arrived in front of an impressive, illuminated building that was located behind a small park. Bern's stood in big golden letters at the roof. Moa stepped to the front door and greeted the doorman.

"Hej Gunnar! Hur står det till? "She asked him.

"Bara bra och själv? "He answered.

"Också bra. Tack. Det här är mina vänner från Amerika! "Moa pointed towards the others.

"Hej! Welcome to Stockholm!", Gunnar greeted the rest and they all said their hellos, "Your table is already waiting for you guys! ", Gunnar continued in English and opened the door for them, "Have a nice evening!"

They thanked him and followed Moa who slid easily through the sets of tables, being obviously very familiar with the location. The rest followed her and soon they were placed on a beautiful table that was located a bit higher than the others, so they could overlook the whole restaurant. The audience was motley and soon Abby realized why Moa told her not to worry about her outfit. Apparently she was not the only Goth in town. There were at least three other tables that were completely surrounded by Goth' and they all smiled brightly at Abby.

"Yay! ", she shrieked, "I already love this place! I've never been to this kind of restaurant and met Goth'!"

"Told you not to worry! ", Moa smiled at her.

"Hej, willkommer i Bern's! ", the waiter greeted them and immediately changed into English, when he heard McGee and Abby talk. He took their orders and disappeared again.

"Does everyone speak English here? " Ziva asked surprised.

"Basically, yes. Most of the TV program is in English with Swedish subtitles, so the children learn it right away as soon as they start to watch TV. And since practically no one in the world speaks Swedish it's very important to learn other languages. So you may call it a second official language. But basically you don't have to ask the people if they speak English, they just do.", Moa explained.

--

Ducky leaned slightly over the balustrade of their box to get a better view of the impressive stage decoration. It was a fantastic staging and beside Diego's stunning performance the rest of the singers and ensembles were excellent too. Jenny enjoyed the evening very much herself. She didn't get to often the chance to visit the opera and this was welcomed alternation.

Gibbs on the other hand had fallen asleep half way through the first act. Slowly his chin had hit his chest and his eyes had fallen shut. But since they were alone in their box nobody else noticed and Jenny let him sleep rather than bearing his grumpy mood. He awoke just in time for the break and followed Ducky and Jenny to one of the bars.

"What do you think, Ducky?" Jenny asked, ignoring Jethro's rolling eyes. He obviously didn't want to participate in an expert talk about opera.

"Oh I think it is excellent. It reminds me of a performance I saw at the MET in New York about twenty years ago, the same intensity, but with more charm. I think Diego outdid himself tonight. ", Ducky spoke.

"I do totally agree! " Jenny nodded, "Jethro how do you like it? ", she teased him.

Gibbs just smirked and headed for the gents, he wouldn't let her make a fool out of himself. She probably noticed that he had fallen asleep.

--

Meanwhile at the Bern's the mood was fantastic. Laughter filled the room and they spent a wonderful evening chatting about various topics. It felt like that had been friends for years. Moa had a gift for making everybody feel at ease and more than welcomed. The Food was delicious, the service excellent and they all were kind of disappointed when they had to leave to meet up with the rest.

They strolled back to the opera through the chilly September night. Moa, Abby and McGee walked slightly ahead of Ziva and Tony.

Gladly she had taken her coat with her, but still Ziva shivered slightly in the early night's breeze. Tony put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close.

"Are you cold?", he asked, looking down at her.

She smiled up at him, "No, not anymore! ". She paused for a moment looking at the dark night sky with its stars, "This is a fantastic evening, yes?"

Tony nodded. She was right, it had been great and she seemed less confused than she had for weeks. As if she had forgotten about whatever was keeping her mind racing. He was grateful for that. Maybe she could leave these ghosts of the past behind her.

--

They met the others at the stage door and followed Diego inside the Opera Bar, one of the most famous night clubs in Stockholm. The music was chilly and the ambiance exclusive. It took Tony three seconds to spot the roulette table in one of the corners.

"Hey Diego, are you up for some gambling?", Tony padded Diego on the shoulder.

"Anytime! ", Diego grinned back, "Tim what about you?"

"I'm in! " McGee grinned. That ought to be fun.

"Gentlemen?", Diego turned his attention towards Ducky and Gibbs.

"I prefer to stay with the ladies!", Ducky gestured towards the women, "But thank you."

"Boss?", Tony eyed Gibbs curiously.

Gibbs smirked and followed the other men to the roulette table. Diego exchanged some words with the dealer and they all sat down. They were eyed curiously by the women who had taken a table near the bar.

"This is just fantastic!", Jenny had a good look around at the magnificent room. "I have to admit, I didn't expected this, when I thought about Stockholm!"

"Don't worry, I think many people underestimate this city.", Moa smiled. The rest of the night went by in a rush. They laughed, they had cocktails. Gibbs won at the roulette table and Tony lost all he had. McGee and Diego had begged out soon enough to keep their savings. The girls had various cocktail creations and had flirted wildly around until the men had returned to the table and Tony left no room for questions to whom Ziva belonged by giving her a passionate kiss.

At 0200 in the morning they headed home. Moa and Diego said their goodbye's and walked their way home, while the others closed the short distance towards the hotel. They agreed to meet at 0900 for breakfast before Moa would pick them up for their first day at SÄPO.

--

Jenny unlocked her door and smiled at Jethro who had the room just opposite hers.

"That was a nice day, don't you think?"

Gibbs turned around and smiled at her, one of the rare warm smiles he saved for special occasions. He stepped towards her and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek, "Thank you."

Jenny was puzzled, "For what? "She asked.

"For agreeing on this trip.", we wouldn't have had such a nice day without you!", he explained, "Good night, Jenny!", and with that he disappeared into his room.

Jenny stared at the spot from where he had just vanished and touched her cheek. "Strange.", she whispered to herself before stepping into her room.

--

Tony fell on the bed and closed his eyes. He was really tired. But it had been worth it. He would definitely come back to Stockholm one day. He felt Ziva climbing onto the mattress and lying down beside him. His hand immediately started to mess with her hair.

"You wanted to make it up to me, yes?", she whispered into his ear, sending shivers down his spine. Maybe he wasn't that tired, he thought.

Ziva squeaked when he covered her with his body and pinned her arms to the bed. "Indeed, I want that!", he hushed.

--

Moa starred out of the window looking over the water. She felt Diego's arms around her waist and him pulling her close.

"Que tal?", he asked into her ear.

"Muy bien!", she smiled and turned around in his arms, "But there's one thing that could make me feel even better!"

He grinned mischievously and lifted her up into his arms to place her on the bed. They wouldn't catch too much sleep this night.

--

Swedish lesson Part 2:

Hur står det till? - How are you?

Bara bra och själv? - Very good and how are you?

Också bra. Tack. Det här är mina vänner från Amerika - I'm good too, thanks. These are my friends from America.


	5. Trap

Sorry guys for the delay. Was a little bit busy. Thanks for the reviews! Keep them coming.

Thanks for **rednebdnim** for beta

Always disclaimers!

And for those who wonder why I introduce Ziva as Agent David, let me remind you of Amor vida de mi vida. She´s a regular NCIS agent now. No Mossad anymore.

Oh and some requested more action, it´s about to come.

Enjoy

--

Moa met them in front of the hotel and together they made their way to SÄPO, taking the bus. After a short five minute ride, they stepped out in front of a rather inconsiderable building. Moa showed her ID and talked to the guard at the door who led them into a separate room where everybody had to fill out various forms before they could pass through.

They followed Moa up to the first floor and found themselves in a big conference room. Moa excused herself, telling them to feel at home and vanished through one of the many doors on the corridor.

"Nice," Tony stated, "and a great view!" He stepped towards the big windows from were he could overlook the nearby park.

The door swung open again and Moa entered the room with an elder, tall man in his fifties.

"Hello everybody. My name is Lars Borgeman. I'm the director of SÄPO," he introduced himself. "Glad to have you here!"

He shook everybody's hand and memorized their names. Moa had talked a lot about those people and he valued her opinion. Therefore it was self-evident for him to invite the NCIS agents to Stockholm. He was sure they could all learn something from each other.

They all sat down and Moa and Director Borgeman explained alternately the role of SÄPO in Sweden, which was indeed similar to the role and duties of the CIA in the United States.

"We deal with espionage, terrorism, political extremism, dignitary protections and protective security. For example for the royal family," Borgeman explained.

"Are you also investigating murder and other crimes, Director Borgeman?" McGee wanted to know.

"Not so much, no. And please call me Lars," he smiled at McGee. "There might be cases where this kind of investigation is required, but we don't see such things very often. Sweden is a small country. We can hardly compare our situation to the one of the United States."

They spent two hours to get acquainted, then it was time for Lars to leave.

"Jenny," he stepped towards her. "Maybe you would like to have lunch with me. We could discuss some topics in detail at this occasion," he offered.

"I would love to," was Jenny's friendly reply. "What about the rest of my people?"

"Moa has worked out something for everyone. I'm sure they won't get bored," he smiled. "It was nice meeting you all. I can understand why Moa was so impressed by her visit to NCIS," he said his goodbyes and led Jenny towards the elevators.

"Your boss is nice," Tony said, nodding to Moa.

"Yes, he is. Most of the time," she added grinning. "Gibbs, Ducky, I have you two teamed up and Anders Lund will take you on a tour of SÄPO. He's one of our most experienced agents. I think you'll get along just perfectly. Ziva and Tony, you are with Charlotte and Torge. They are espionage specialists. And Abby and McGee, you come with me," she explained the further procedure.

Five minutes later they were all on their separate ways. Abby and McGee followed Moa to the other side of the building, where all the medical, computer and forensic labs were located. Moa knocked on a door and stepped into a brightly lit room filled with computers, displays and other technical equipment.

"This is our computer brain Lasse," she pointed towards a very young looking guy who typed some commands on a keyboard and then turned around to meet them.

"Hej. Nice to meet you. Tim, Abby, " he shook both their hands and smiled. "Heard a lot about the two of you lately!" he teased Moa.

She slapped him on the arm and grinned, "Thought you and Tim could have some fun together with your computers," she said.

"Yes. Of course!" Lasse exclaimed exited. "Come on Tim!" He signaled McGee to follow him, while Abby and Moa continued their way to Moa's lab.

--

In the meantime Tony and Ziva had followed Charlotte and Torge to the car park. SÄPO had been informed about an incident at the Royal Palace which concerned the safety of the royal family.

"Does this happen often?" Tony asked, getting into the passengers seat next to Torge while Ziva and Charlotte climbed into the back of the Volvo XC90.

"Once or twice a month," Torge answered. "Most of the time it is false alarm. But still we have to check."

"And does the royal family really live in the palace?" Ziva wanted to know from Charlotte.

"Nej, they live outside of Stockholm at Drottningholm. You might call this their office," Charlotte explained. "And you can see that they are actually there when the flag on the palace is up," she pointed out the royal flag on the top of the palace.

The four of them got out of the car and approached one of the side entrances of the palace. Hundreds of tourists were gathered around the palace and the adjoining museums.

"The royal horse guard is about to perform their little spectacle," Torge told them. "It's a big tourist attraction."

He hadn't finished the sentence when they heard loud music coming from further down the street.

"They're coming!" Charlotte stated and minutes later they saw a horse regiment riding up the street. The riders all played instruments. "We should go, otherwise we'll be stuck here until this is over," Charlotte led them towards the guard at the door.

"They're with us," Torge nodded to the guard who looked at Tony and Ziva and then opened the door. They followed a long corridor towards a big hall and took a turn to the left. Stopping in front of two big doors. Torge knocked and then opened the door.

"Hej, Martin!" he greeted the man who sat behind a mahogany desk. "What's going on?"

"Torge," he smiled at him, "who are these two?", he pointed at Tony and Ziva, who both pondered how often that question was going to be asked during the next week.

"Special Agents David and DiNozzo from the NCIS, United States!" Torge introduced them both.

"Oh, I see, the exchange program." He stepped forward and shook both their hands. "I'm Martin Strandberg, security advisor to the royal family. What we have is a broken window at the east wing," he continued going straight to business. "We're not sure if someone entered. So far we couldn't find anybody. But I think we could use some help."

"And His Royal Highness?" Charlotte worried.

"Oh, they are both safe in their rooms. Not to worry about. I'm sure this is nothing, but you never can be careful enough."

"Okay, Ziva, you're with me and Tony you're with Charlotte. Lets have a look around," Torge allocated.

--

Meanwhile Abby and Moa arrived at the lab.

"Wow!" Abby exclaimed. "This is fantastic!" She walked around Moa´s lab, which was about two times bigger than hers in D.C.

"Funny isn't it?", Moa grinned, "You live in that big city of Washington, D.C. and I have the large lab."

Abby grinned, "I assume you don't have to fill out tons of paperwork to order a new monitor and then still might not get it."

"Well, I have to fill out paper work, but in the end I always get what I want."

A phone rang.

"Excuse me," Moa said to Abby and picked up the receiver.

"Bengtsson! - Hej! - Nu? - Okay, jag kommer. - Ja! Strax." She hang up.

"Sorry Abby, I have to leave you for just a minute. I Need to pick up something."

"No prob. I'll wait and have fun with these little babies," Abby turned around smiling brightly.

Moa laughed, "Be right back."

--

After 45 minutes of searching Torge was sure that no one had actually entered the palace and strolled back to Martin's bureau.

"All clear, Martin. Nothing to worry about!" Charlotte announced, "We're heading back."

"Tack! Oh and could you do me a favor? I asked Moa to go over some of my physical reports, you know, because of the marathon. Could you give this to her?" he handed them a big envelope.

"Sure thing." Torge took it and said his goodbyes.

--

They stepped into the lab about fifteen minutes later, to find Abby still alone, sitting in front of one of the microscopes.

"Where's Moa?" Charlotte asked.

"I don't know," Abby looked a little desperate. "She said she needed to pick up something and would be right back. That was 25 minutes ago."

Charlotte and Torge frowned at each other. It was unlike Moa to stay away like this when someone was waiting for her.

"Who did call?" Torge wanted to know.

Abby shrugged her shoulders, looking towards Tony and Ziva who stood in the door way.

"She didn't say."

Torge picked up the phone and looked for the last incoming call. "Side entrance B," he stated confused.

"Side entrance B is closed," Charlotte looked wide eyed at Torge.

"Let's go." Torge ordered, now worried.

--

Gibbs, Ducky and Lund were about to cross the big hall when they saw Torge and Charlotte, followed by Tony, Ziva and Abby, running down one of the corridors which led to the back of the building.

"Something's wrong, "Gibbs and Lund stated in unison and followed them.

"No one's here," Tony shouted after he stepped out through the side entrance into a small alley.

Ziva kneeled down and traced her fingers over a mark in the sand, "But someone was, Look skid marks."

"What's going on?" Gibbs and Lund wanted to know. Starring at their respective team members.

"Gibbs, they took Moa!" Abby jumped into his arms.

"Who?" Lund wanted to know.

"Seems someone called Moa in her lab and asked her to collect something here. That is now over thirty minutes ago," Torge answered.

"A trap?" Lund frowned.

"Seems so," Torge nodded.

"Okay. Torge, Charlotte. Go and have a look around maybe someone noticed something," Lund ordered and then gave Gibbs a side glance.

"Tony, Ziva! Security cameras," Gibbs barked.

"Go to Lasse for it. Next to Moa's lab," Lund added.

"And send McGee up here for photos, prints and samples. Abby, you stay here and wait for McGee, "Gibbs finished Lund´s sentence.

"Okay Gibbs. And you?"

"We'll go and inform our directors. Seems this week is going to be much more about exchanging expertise, than we thought." Lund stated coldly at Gibbs and headed directly for the car park.


	6. All for one

I'm really sorry guys, that this took me so long, but I had to work all weekend. Try to update a bit faster from now on.

Thanks again to rednebdnim for beta and funny jokes ;-P

Disclaimers: Not mine

--

Moa woke up with a strange taste in her mouth. She was tied to a chair in a dark room. She tried to blink away the darkness to locate where she was, but her environment stayed black. Her head ached and only slowly the memory of what had happened made its way back to her mind.

She had been called to entrance B to collect some blood results and only now she realized how stupid it had been of her to jump at that call, without thinking about the fact that entrance B was not used anymore. She had stepped out into the alley and something or someone had hit her on the head. The rest was silence, until she had woken up, tied to this chair.

She tried to scream but found her mouth was taped. She tried to loosen her bonds, but did not succeed either. She must not panic now, she thought to herself. Panic wouldn't bring her anywhere. And they were probably already searching for her.

--

McGee and Lasse worked frenetic on viewing the surveillance footage, but so far they couldn't find anything that might be connected to Moa's disappearance. The camera in the alley had been deactivated shortly before the incident. Lasse tried to find out how it had been done and was running a check on all security systems.

Charlotte was on the phone with Diego and tried to reassure him, telling him to come by as soon as possible, while Abby tried to match the fingerprints from the door, but so far they had all been Moa's.

Tony, Ziva and Torge went through Moa's recent case files to see if they could find any connections. But since they both did not speak Swedish, they more or less guessed and threw random names at Torge, who either nodded or shook his head.

Gibbs and Lund stormed into the lab, followed by the two directors and Ducky.

"What do you have so far?" Gibbs wanted to know, starring into blank faces.

"I'm afraid not much," Torge answered first. "Still checking the security footage and her old case files. No lead so far."

"Did someone call Diego?" Lund wanted to know.

"Yes, he's on his way," Charlotte nodded.

"Maybe she has mentioned something to him. How about the old case files?" Lund looked at Torge.

"Well, there are definitely some who could have a motive, but no one stands out in particular," he stated.

"Okay, make a list and check all of them. Take Tony and Ziva with you," Lund ordered.

"Boss," McGee typed something on the keyboard, "I think I might have found the car, or at least part of it."

"Spit it out, McGee," Gibbs barked.

"Yes boss! We couldn't get a picture from the alley, because the camera had been switched off. So, Lasse pulled up the pictures from the traffic surveillance."

Gibbs glared at him.

"Getting there boss! It does not show the alley either, but the main road it leads up to. When we take the approximate time of the abduction there's only one vehicle on the tape that could have come out of the alley."

McGee framed a part of the picture and enlarged it.

"It's a black or dark blue van," he stated finally.

"License number?" Gibbs asked.

"Sorry boss, it's not displayed on the tape."

"That's all you got?" he barked again.

"Yes, boss. Sorry, boss!" McGee mumbled.

Gibbs was about to say something when Diego stormed into the lab.

"What happened?" he exclaimed, more than worried.

After Diego had been updated on the current status of the investigation, Jenny sat down beside him and took his hand in hers.

"We're going to find her Diego," she tried to reassure him.

"I can't believe this is happening 12 days before our wedding," he looked at Jenny and then at the rest of the team and sighed. "I'm glad that you're here. Moa trusts you."

"Now, Diego, this is important!" Jenny wanted him to concentrate. "Did Moa mention anything to you? Did she seem worried about something?"

Diego shook his head but his mind was racing, trying to recall every small detail of the past days and about their conversations.

"Wait, there's something! She called me yesterday when she left you at the hotel after you have been to Skansen. She sounded kind of worried, maybe distracted. I did ask her, but she said she was just tired. I don't know if that means anything," he looked at Jenny, hoping that this information would help to make some progress.

"She seemed totally normal when she left us, didn't she?" Jenny looked at Gibbs, who nodded.

"So let's assume that something happened between her departure from the hotel and your conversation, how does that help us?" Lars joined in.

"When did she call you?" McGee asked Diego, who pulled out his phone and scrolled through his incoming calls.

"05:59," he read.

"Good! She left us at the hotel about 05:45. That reduces the timeslot to 14 minutes," McGee concluded.

"How long does it take from the hotel to your apartment?" Lund asked.

"Not longer than 10 minutes." Diego answered. "But wait, maybe she went over Kungsträdgårdsgatan. She does that sometimes."

Lasse typed some commands into the keyboard, pulling up some new footage from the traffic supervision.

"This is Kungsträdgårdsgatan at 05:50," Lasse explained.

"And when I trace her call to Diego, we should be able to get her exact position." McGee added.

Lasse flipped through the pictures.

"There she is," Diego exclaimed and pointed at the screen.

--

Moa still didn't have the slightest clue where she was. She tried to get rid of the tape that was plastered over her mouth, but didn't succeed. It was hopeless, she wouldn't get out of here on her own.

Suddenly she heard footsteps that came nearer and stopped, probably in front of the door to this room. Slowly, the door opened and allowed some light to fall into the room, which seemed to be an old vault. She blinked at the figure that stepped into the room.

Still, she couldn't see the face or any other characteristic features that might have told her who was holding her captive.

"Miss Bengtsson, nice to meet you again," he spoke in broken English with what could be a Polish accent.

Her mind was spinning, trying to get a face to this voice.

"I assume you do not remember me. There have been too many of us, haven't there?" He more or less grunted. Circling her, but hiding his face from her view. With one swift movement he pulled the tape from her mouth, causing her to wince.

"You really thought this wouldn't come back to you?" He asked his voice low.

"Who are you?" Moa asked, trying not to show her fear.

"A man you believed to be dead," he answered, followed by a hollow laugh.

"Why am I here?"

"Because I want revenge! And you are the key to it. They will come to find you and then they'll be right where I want them to be."

"So this is not only about me," she mumbled more to herself.

"No," he hissed into her ear, his cheek nearly touching hers, "This is about all of you!"

--

"Can you enlarge that?" Lars looked at Lasse.

"I think so," he answered.

"See that black van behind the taxi?" Lund pointed at the vehicle. "Could be the same."

McGee nodded and played the tape forward. "See that? She's approaching it."

"Can you try to track the car down over the traffic surveillance tapes?" Gibbs looked at Lasse and McGee.

"As long as it stayed on the main roads," Lasse nodded.

"Good! Then do it!" Gibbs ordered.

"Torge, you're with Ziva and Tony. Dr. Mallard, could you help Abby?" Lund asked.

"I'll do anything to bring dear Moa back safe!" Ducky replied.

"Charlotte you stay with Diego and we inform the police," he looked at Gibbs.

--

The stranger had left Moa alone again and she still tried to figure out who it was. At first she had had the impression that this was a personal thing that just affected her, but now she knew that this man was after all of them. She had to remember the name and face that belonged to this anonymous voice. And she'd better remember them soon!

Her mind was running patterns constantly. He was definitely Eastern-European, that had to be her first clue and it must have been a case where they all had been involved in.

Suddenly an image of a case from four years ago appeared in front of her. But that couldn't be. Boris Kozakov was dead. But she remembered what he had said that he was a man she believed to be dead. It was indeed Boris Kozakov and this made her whole situation even worse.

--

"Boss!" McGee stormed through the door to Lund's office, nearly tripping over a trash can.

"What is it, McGee?" Gibbs barked at him.

"Lasse and I could track the van until," McGee flipped through his notes, "Södermalm."

"That's on the south side of the Riddarfjärden," Lund stated.

"And?" Gibbs was getting impatient.

"Yes," McGee rushed to continue, "unfortunately traffic supervision stops there. The last position we have is in the Söderledtunneln."

"So we're actually still where we have been thirty minutes ago," Gibbs stared at McGee.

"Yes, boss. Sorry, boss."

"Don't apologise!" Gibbs barked

"I know!" He was about leave when Lund held him back.

"Söderledtunneln you said?"

"Yes, boss," he shook his head, "I mean, Lund."

"Maybe that's more significant than it might seem at first sight. Come with me."


	7. Follow the Lead

On we go, next chapter is almost finished too. Thanks for all the great reviews.

Thanks so much to **rednebdnim** for beta!

Disclaimers: I don't own them.

--

Ziva and Tony stood behind Torge when he rang the doorbell to what must have been the fifth house they'd been to. Tony and Ziva couldn't help but stare at the exchange of words.

"Do you understand at least a word?" Tony looked at Ziva.

"No," she shook her head, "it doesn't even sound like a language to me," she whispered back.

"It's more like they are singing," Tony imitated what he had just heard.

In that moment Torge returned to them, giving Tony a funny look, "What are you doing?"

"Heh? Oh just stretching my vocal bands!"

Torge laughed, "You should stop that."

Ziva grinned and patted Tony on the back, "He's right."

Torge and Ziva headed towards the car, Tony strolling behind them.

"You know, I have a great singing voice!" He stated offended.

The other two chose to ignore him and just waited for him to get into the car.

"So, how many others do we still have to go to?" Ziva asked.

"That was the last one on the list," Torge said. "Lund will not like this, if he finds out that we're coming home empty handed."

"Neither will Gibbs," Tony added from the backseat, pulling on Ziva's hair, which earned him a deadly stare.

"You two like messing around, don't you?" Torge grinned and, when he didn't get an answer, continued. "Charlotte and I used to be the same."

"You and Charlotte are a couple?" Tony asked surprised.

"Were!" Torge clarified. "We broke up two years ago. Just didn't work out. It's not easy when you're your doing the job we do and your girlfriend is always at your side. But we still are good friends. I even like her new boy friend."

Torge hadn't meant to offend Tony or Ziva with his words, he just wanted to make light conversation and while Tony chatted about this and that, Ziva became suddenly very quiet.

--

In the meantime Lund led McGee and Gibbs back to Lasse's lab. The mention of Södermalm had brought some memories back to his mind, but he still couldn't grip it. It must have been some years ago and he had a strangely odd feeling about this memory. He just couldn't name it.

They made a short stop with Abby and Ducky, but they hadn't found out anything new.

"They only other print I found is useless, as long as I don't have a specific other to match it. There's so little left of it that I can't run it through the Swedish AFIS."

"Anything else?" Gibbs asked.

"Unfortunately not," Ducky answered. "And you?"

"Maybe," Lund replied. "but we're not sure yet. Do you need anything?" he asked them.

"I really could use a Caf Pow," Abby sighed.

"A what?" Lund gave her a questioning look.

"Never mind," Abby mumbled, "I think coffee will do."

They left Abby and Ducky and burst into Lasse's lab who was still on the computers trying to find any new hints.

"Lasse, does Södermalm ring any bells?" Lund asked him, hoping Lasse could fresh up his memory.

"Södermalm?" Lasse looked irritated. "I live there, yes."

"No, that's not what I mean!" Lund waved his hands in desperation. "I mean something case related. My gut is telling me that it is no coincidence that whoever took Moa drove to Södermalm."

Lasse was thinking and typed something into the keyboard.

"I'll let the computer check the case files of the last two years. If there was something connected to Södermalm, we should see it in a minute."

But the search revealed nothing. Lund tried to think again. Tried to recall some more details.

"Maybe it's longer ago," he finally said, "Search the last four years."

Lasse did as told and after a minute a case file popped up on the screen.

"Boris Kozakov," Gibbs read out loud, "who's that?"

Lund starred at the case file and the picture of Boris Kozakov and nodded, "That bastard nearly got us killed!"

"So, he could be our man?" Gibbs asked hopefully but Lasse shook his head.

"He's dead!" he stated.

"At least we suppose," Lund said, not taking his eyes from the picture, "but it wouldn't surprise me if this bastard had wound himself out of it."

Lund was about to add something when Abby stormed into the lab, followed by Ducky.

"I think I found our guy!" she exclaimed, causing everyone to look at her.

"How?" Everybody asked.

"Well, I reran the tape from the traffic supervision and I think she was actually not approaching the van but the taxi in front of it. If you look closely you can see, that she is starring at the man in the taxi," she pulled out a photo, "I think this is the guy we are searching for."

She held the picture up and Lund starred at it in disbelieve.

"That's Boris Kozakov!" Torge suddenly said, when entering the lab with Ziva and Tony in tow, "Where did you get that picture?"

"Who the hell is this Kozakov?" Gibbs finally barked.

Lund turned around sighing, "Four years ago we dealt with a case of people smuggling. Boris Kozakov was the leader of a group of Eastern European smugglers. They preyed on people, taking all of their money and promised them a better life in Scandinavia. Not only Sweden, but also Norway, Finland, Denmark and sometimes even Germany and the Netherlands. But all those people got when they came here was a job in one of Kozakov's factories. They had to work long hours without payment, with barley getting something to eat. It took us nearly a year to bring him down. He was rich, he had influence," he sighed again, "but then Moa came up with a plan. She infiltrated Kozakov's empire and brought us the evidence we needed."

"Why Moa?" Gibbs asked.

"First, she could speak at least a bit Polish and she's a damn good actress," Lund explained.

"And why did you suppose he is dead?" Gibbs wanted to know.

"When we wanted to arrest him he fled with a motor ship. We followed him and at some point he went overboard. Five months later there was a body found outside Stockholm and it was presumed that it was Kozakov."

"Was there no examination?" Ducky asked irritated.

"Of course there was," Lund stated, "But it was not one from our people. So I expect now that the man was bribed."

Torge shook his head, "This damn bastard must have found out who had been the one to turn him in and now he wants revenge."

Lund nodded and rubbed his eyes. This all was just getting worse by the minute.

"So, what are we going to do now?" Abby looked from one to another.

"What about Södermalm? What happened there that you were reminded of this case?" Gibbs looked at Lund.

"In Södermalm was one of his factories."

"Am I the only one, or does this all sound very much like a set up?" Ziva frowned.

"You could be right," Torge replied, "We have been all involved in this case so maybe this is a trap."

--

An hour later they had worked out a plan to catch Kozakov and to get Moa out there alive. They had informed Diego who was told to wait with Abby and Ducky till they were back. Abby tried to distract him with funny stories about McGee, who didn't seem too happy about it, while Tony and Ziva sat up one of the SÄPO trucks.

"You're so quiet," Tony noticed.

"And?" Ziva was not in the mood for a serious conversation, "Can't I just be quiet for a while? I know, totally unthinkable for you, Tony!" she snapped at him.

Tony was more than surprised by her sudden outburst, why was she so rude?

"Did I do something to piss you off?" he asked.

"Not everything has to do with you Tony!" she snapped again, "The world doesn't revolve around you!" she got up and walked to the drivers' side.

"Excuse me!" He yelled back, "I was just worried!"

"Stop worrying. It's driving me nets!"

"Nuts, Zee-Vah!" He tried to lighten the mood but only earned an evil glare.

The air was filled with an icy silence. He didn't know what was wrong with her. One minute she was her irresistible self and in a second she turned into a totally different person. He wished she would talk to him, that he could understand what was going on with her. He feared that she would drift away from him. He knew that she was not an easy person, but so was he and he hadn't expected that it would work out like clock work from the start. But now he had the feeling it didn't get better, but worse. He thought she still might think he was not ready for this and so he tried to reassure her by talking about their future together, but it seemed, that only pushed her further away from him. He didn't want to lose her.

Ziva stared into the air. She knew she was unfair. Again. He was not responsible for her insecurities, she alone was. But she couldn't help it. This ongoing battle within herself was eating her up and she couldn't tell him. She just couldn't explain this mess that was her right now. She couldn't put it into words. It was just too complex. But she knew she had to figure this out. Somehow she had to get a hold of herself. She knew Tony would keep asking. She had to get over these feelings before she ruined everything. She didn't want to lose him.

"Ready to go?" Gibbs barked.

Ziva and Tony nodded.

"Then let's get Moa out of there!" he ordered.


	8. Team Work

Okay guys, here's the last part before my vacation. Let's call it my own little hiatus. ;-) I hope you stick with me until I'm back. Next chapter will be up sometime after the 16th. With some more revelation on Ziva's struggle.

And I got a premiere here in my hometown today. Tornado warning. Well, that's nothing compared to the tornados in the US, not at all, but we never had a tornado warning before. I mean it's a windy city, but tornados? But so far it's not even windy.

That reminds me of an old Doris Day song: I just blew in from the windy city, the windy city is mighty city, but it ain't got what we got.

Sorry got carried away, I'm a bit exited. So enjoy and don't forget about me.

--

They parked the van at a safe distance to the old factory. Lund had guided them to their destination, while Torge and Charlotte had gone to pick up the examiner who had done the autopsy on Kozakov.

Lund would stay behind and wait with the van, while Gibbs and his team went in; they would have the benefit of surprise on their side, since Kozakov didn't expected them, but Lund's team.

Silently, they entered the building, searching every room on the first floor until it was cleared. Tony signalled towards a staircase that led down to another level.

Tony went down first, followed by Ziva and Gibbs. At the end of the staircase was a long corridor. It was a risk to continue with no chance to take cover when they were attacked, but Ziva didn't hesitate for a second, moving further down the corridor, all her senses wide awake. They reached a door, opened it and got in. But the room was empty.

They looked around to see if anything might give them a hint, but it seemed that the room had been abandoned for years. It was dark and wet down here. They had to be careful not to slip on the moos-covered floor.

"This is like Indiana Jones …," Tony wanted to share one of his movie references, but got shushed by Gibbs.

"Not now, DiNozzo!"

"Sure boss," he whispered.

Ziva pointed towards another door at the end of the corridor. Slowly, they were approaching the door, looking out for everything that could tell them where Kozakov could have held Moa captive. Ziva had a bad feeling about this. It was quiet, too quiet for her taste. She had the feeling that this Kozakov was not far away and that he knew they were here.

They reached the door and positioned themselves in front of it. Tony kicked it open, Gibbs went in first, followed by Tony, while Ziva remained outside watching the corridor.

There, tied to a chair, sat Moa, looking more than relieved when she saw who had just burst through the door. Gibbs quickly was at her side, nodding at her.

"It's over!" he said calmly and cut the bonds loose, freeing her from the tape that was placed over her mouth.

"Where are the others?" Moa asked the minute she could speak again.

"We figured out that this would be a trap, with you being the decoy, so we came, instead of Lund and the others," Tony quickly explained and helped her up. His view fell on the doorway. He froze. Ziva was gone. It took him two steps to reach the door and look down the corridor.

There, at the bottom of the staircase stood Kozakov, pressing Ziva's back to his front, a gun aimed at her head.

"Who are you?" Kozakov yelled at Tony. "You are not who I expected."

Tony stared at Kozakov and then at Ziva, seeking her eyes for some kind of message, a code to tell him what to do. She seemed rather calm, as if she had already figured out a plan how to overwhelm Kozakov. But that didn't relieve him a bit. The memory of the horrible day at the harbour was suddenly back on his mind. The explosion and the unbearable pain he had felt, when he had thought that the most important thing in his life had been taken away from him.

"Friends of Moa," Tony answered, his eyes never leaving Ziva. How could Kozakov have overwhelmed her?

"Well, sadly Moa won't need friends where she is going," Kozakov laughed and bent the trigger of his weapon.

Tony noticed a movement on the stairs, he glanced up and a second later Kozakov fell to the ground, struck on the head with a big iron bar that swung in Lund's hand.

Ziva swirled around and kneeled on Kozakov, handcuffing him.

"Gosh, Ziva, you scared the hell out of me there!" Tony exclaimed, rushing over to her side.

"I'm fine!" Was the annoyed answer he received.

He reached out for her, wanting to make sure she was okay, but she pushed his hand aside.

"Really, Tony! I'm fine," she repeated and then walked over to Moa.

"You're okay," she asked.

Moa nodded. "I just wanna get out of here," she stated.

Gibbs nodded and guided her up the stairs, followed by Tony and Lund who carried the still unconscious Kozakov. Ziva was the last to ascend the stairs, glancing back at the doorway where Kozakov had the chance to overwhelm her so easily, because once again she had been a prisoner of her own thoughts. She had to put an end to this, before someone got hurt because of her feelings.

The minute they reached the top Moa was on the phone with Diego and everybody could hear Abby shriek through the phone. Everything was back in order. Well, maybe not everything, but at least for Moa and Diego the world was back in place.

"Why did you follow us?" Gibbs asked, standing beside Lund, watching Kozakov being hauled of by the back-up team.

"My gut," Lund just stated. The two men smirked at each other in silent approval.

--

Diego was waiting impatiently for the team to return. Abby was running in circles, exclaiming, "Yay," from time to time and grinning from ear to ear. McGee was watching all of this with Lasse. They both were glad that this all had come to a good end.

"Is she always like that?" Lasse asked McGee pointing at Abby.

"Mostly," McGee smiled, "but we wouldn't want her any other way!" He added.

"I can see why Moa likes you all so much," Lasse patted McGee on the shoulder. "You're all a bit crazy, aren't you?"

McGee laughed. Lasse was probably right; they all were a bit special, like he would put it.

Finally, the van arrived at the back entrance of SÄPO. Jenny and Lars had also come to meet the others and all smiled brightly when Moa jumped out of the van and ran into Diego's arms.

"God, I thought I would never see you again," Diego exclaimed, tears running down his face, that joined Moa's when he placed a sweet kiss on her lips and wrapped his arms around her even a bit tighter.

"I love you," she whispered.

They stood there, lost in each other for quite a while until Moa gently pulled away from Diego, smiling at him. She stepped out of his embrace and went to embrace Abby and the rest of the team that gathered around her. Finally she turned to Gibbs, Lund, Ziva and Tony, sighing deeply.

"Thank you, guys! You saved my life!" She hugged them all tightly and then went back to Diego.

"I know we had planned to stay the whole week in Stockholm before we would drive home," she said, "but would you mind if we just head home first thing in the morning?"

"Of course not," Diego answered immediately, "exactly what I had in mind."

"You guys can of course stay until the end of this week and then join us in Hyltebruk later," she said directed to the NCIS team.

"I think we've all had enough adventure here in Stockholm," Jenny stated, "I believe it's best we follow you to your hometown."

Everybody nodded in agreement and then followed Lars and Jenny back into SÄPO.

--

Gibbs and Lund were the last to leave that evening. They had written the report together and had sent the others home and back to the hotel.

Charlotte and Torge had taken the examiner into custody and he would be questioned tomorrow. Although, it was already clear that he had been bribed.

"That was great teamwork today," Lund finally said, when he had finished the report.

"Yes, it was," Gibbs agreed.

"Thank you," Lund extended his hands to Gibbs, "Couldn't have done it without you."

Gibbs shook Lund's hand, "We never leave a team member behind."

"Semper Fi!" Lund smiled. "I heard about that," he paused. "Moa told me you like boats?"

"Yes, can't deny that," Gibbs answered surprised.

"Okay, then you have to see something before you leave for Hyltebruk tomorrow," he stated and turned of his computer.

Gibbs was slightly curious what it was that Lund wanted to show him, but Lund didn't give it away. They drove back to Djurgården, the island they had visited yesterday, where the Skansen and the Junibacken were located. It was already dark when they arrived at their destination. Lund led him towards a big building and then knocked on a door. It didn't take long before someone opened it.

"God kväll, Anders," a guard said, opening the door a bit wider so that Lund and Gibbs could step in, "Kjiel ringde mig, att du skulle vilja titta på Vasa."

"Ja, det stämmer," Lund answered and pointed at Gibbs, "Han är en stor vän av skepp!"

The guard nodded, "Ge er tid!" And with that he left them alone.

"So where are we here?" Gibbs wanted to know.

"This is the Vasamuseet." Lund started to explain. "The Vasa was a warship that sunk on August 10th, 1628 on its maiden trip after 1300 meters in the Stockholm harbor," he pushed open another door and there she was. The Vasa was nearly intact.

Gibbs had to admit, he was impressed.

"In 1956 the Vasa was located on the harbour ground and was retrieved. It took 17 years of restoration to put it back together and to have it look like this," he pointed at the impressive ship that filled most of the building.

They circled it; Lund pointed out the most important facts about the ship and then stopped in front of a plank.

"This is normally not allowed, but since Kjiel Ljungberg, the director of the museum, is my sisters husband, he gave me permission to board," he grinned at Gibbs and set food on the ship. Gibbs followed him, carefully not to damage anything. They sat down at the stern and Lund handed Gibbs two glasses that he had carried in a small bag, then he pulled out a bottle of liquor and poured it into the glasses.

"Skål!" Lund raised his glass to Gibbs.

"Skål!" Gibbs repeated and nodded, "Thanks, this is something to remember."

--

Swedish Lesson:

God kväll, Anders - Good evening, Anders

KJa, det stämmer - That's right

Han är en stor vän av skepp! - He's a big fan of ships

Ge er tid - Take your time

Skål - Cheers


	9. Mary Poppins

So guys, hiatus is over, I'm back! There's trouble ahead.

Thanks to **rednebdnim** for beta. It's always a pleasure.

And since I didn't buy the rights on these guys in NY they're still not mine.

Enjoy!

--

Ziva stormed into their room, refusing to discuss her earlier behaviour with Tony, slamming the bathroom door shut in his face.

"Ziva!" He shouted through the closed door, hammering his fist against it, "would you please come out of there and talk to me!"

She didn't answer him, instead he heard her turn on the water.

"Ziva!!" He yelled again, but she didn't respond. "Okay, fine! Whatever!" Tony shouted and stormed out of the room. If she wanted to act like a child that didn't get what she wanted, so be it. But he wouldn't be a part of it. He sat down at the bar and ordered a scotch. Maybe drinking would lighten his mood?

"Trouble?" the bar tender asked.

"Women!" Tony muttered into his glass.

"Ah, I see," he nodded knowingly. "I have three sisters."

"Tell me," Tony looked at the man's name tag, "Bert. Do you think they do it on purpose?"

"Do what?"

"Driving us crazy!"

Bert laughed, "Of course they do," pouring Tony another drink and leaning across the bar. "What did she do?"

Tony sighed, "She's in a mood and I don't mean the monthly kind."

Bert nodded, encouraging Tony to go on. As a bartender he was used to deal with other peoples problems and it was the part of his job he liked the most.

"She snaps at me without any reason and when I ask her to discuss it with me, she doesn't even talk to me."

"Oh, then she knows she is wrong," Bert stated.

"Heh?" Tony looked at him.

"If women refuse to discuss something, they actually know that they are wrong. So they don't discuss it. That way they don't have to admit they're wrong."

"Tricky," Tony agreed, "what is it about you Swedish people, that you always seem to know everything?"

Bert laughed again, "I don't know, do we?"

"Well, at least it seems that way," Tony grinned. "By the way, I'm Tony." Tony extended his hand and Bert shook it.

"Nice to meet you, Tony. Can I offer you one of my specialties?"

"What would that be?" Tony asked.

"Oh, that's a secret."

"Alright, show me what you've got," Tony answered and awaited Bert's cocktail creation.

--

Ziva stood under the shower and stared at the wall. She knew she had no right to act like she did. She owed Tony an explanation, but she didn't even know where to start, she hadn't figured it out herself. So how could she expect him to understand all that was going on inside her.

Maybe she should just take the next flight and head home to Washington D.C., but she knew that this was not an option. Neither Gibbs nor Jenny would tolerate that, at least not without a good reason. And it would have been more than unfair to Moa and Diego to miss their wedding. She just had to be strong and get through this, somehow.

She turned off the water and got out of the shower. After drying off and wrapping herself in a towel, she slightly opened the bathroom door and peeked into the bedroom, relieved that she found their room empty. Tony must have left after the quarrel.

She let herself sink into the pillows and slipped under the covers, trying to think about something else.

--

Lund had walked Gibbs back to the hotel, where they had said their goodbyes for the next week, until they would meet again at the wedding.

Gibbs walked through the lobby and was about to enter the elevator when he heard a familiar voice from the bar.

"You know Bert," Tony blurted, leaning across the bar, "Bert!" he started to giggle. "Chim chiminey, Chim chiminey, Chim chim cher-ee! A sweep is as lucky as lucky can be!" Tony started to sing.

"Chim chiminey, Chim chiminey, Chim chim cher-oo! Good luck will rub off when I shake 'ands with you, or blow me a kiss. And that's lucky too!" Bert joined in, "Mary Poppins, yes that kind of stuck with me."

"Could be worse," Tony laughed.

"Could it?"

Tony swirled around and almost fell off his chair and bumped into Gibbs who was suddenly standing behind him.

"Boss!" Tony got out and then started laughing again, "This is my new friend Bert, the chimney sweeper," he patted Bert on the shoulder.

Gibbs nodded into Bert direction, "What's going on?" He turned to Bert, knowing he wouldn't get a proper answer from Tony.

"Our Mary Poppins here," Gibbs had to grin at that, "has some trouble with his girl friend," Bert continued.

"She's not talking to me Gibbs," Tony grabbed his arm, trying to get up and would have fallen to the floor if Gibbs hadn't grabbed him just in time.

"I wouldn't either, if you were smelling like this!" Gibbs smirked.

"Funny, boss! Funny," Tony giggled again.

"Okay, Poppins, time for bed," Gibbs ordered and grabbed Tony.

"I can't ..." Tony's gaze wandered through the room.

"Can't what, Tony?" Gibbs asked annoyed.

"Go to our room! She's there!!" He waved his arm about in a desperate manner.

"Alright, alright," Gibbs gave in, "you come with me!"

Tony starred into Gibbs eyes, "thank you, boss!"

"If you even think about hugging me now, DiNozzo, I'll get her down here in a second," he warned Tony.

"Won't do boss!"

"Say goodnight to Bert!"

"'Night Bert," Tony slurred, "Chim chiminey...!"

"Good night, Tony!" Bert laughed and started to clear up the bar.

--

"If you think, DiNozzo, that I will take off your shoes," Gibbs said while opening the door to his room, but didn't get to finish it, as Tony headed immediately towards the bathroom and threw up.

"Oh no," Gibbs moaned and went after him.

"I'm fine boss, I'm fine," Tony stated while trying to get up.

"Oh, now you sound like Ziva," Gibbs stated sarcastically.

"Heh?" Tony looked at Gibbs like a lost boy.

"That's your game DiNozzo, not mine. Get under the shower!" Gibbs ordered and pushed him under the cold water, not caring that Tony's clothes were getting soaked.

Fifteen minutes later Gibbs had Tony tucked into his bed and the minute he hit the pillow he was soundly asleep. Gibbs sighed and stepped out into the corridor, not willing to share a bed with his senior field agent. He tripped over a vase, when he tried to flip on the lights. Gladly it didn't break, but nevertheless the ruckus caused several doors on the corridor to open. He shot them all an apologizing look and placed the vase back where it belonged.

"A new hidden obsession? Sneaking through hotel corridors?"

Gibbs turned around and smirked at Jenny, "Only when a drunken senior agent is occupying my bed."

"Tony? What happened?"

"I'm not sure, something with Ziva," he answered.

"Serious?" Jenny asked.

"Maybe, but we'll let them make their own mistakes, right?"

"Right," Jenny nodded, "So what are you up to now?"

"I'm not sure, since I'm homeless."

"Oh no, I can't allow that. Can I invite you in?"

Gibbs thought about it for a moment, but since he had no intention to sleep on the floor of the corridor, he agreed and followed her into her room.

--

Ziva woke up in the middle of the night and reached for the alarm clock on the night stand. 04:00am and he still hadn't returned. She was worried. What if something had happened to him? She tried to call his cell, but it went straight to voice mail. She dialed the number of the reception and immediately got an answer.

"Excuse me; I'm searching for my partner, Anthony DiNozzo. He might be at the bar."

"Let me check that Ma'me," the woman said and Ziva could hear her placing the receiver down and talking to someone in Swedish.

"Ma'me?"

"Yes?" Ziva answered.

"The bar is closed, but the bartender told me that your partner left with an elder man named Gibbs."

"Okay, thank you!" Ziva was relieved, Tony would be fine. She tried to go back to sleep, but hadn't much luck and decided to start packing for their departure to Hyltebruk.


	10. Occupied

Sorry guys, EURO 08 is still going on and we still can become champion, it's a crazy time here right now. WHat ever this chapter may intend, I'm not going to turn this into a Jibbs!!

Thanks to _**rednebdnim **_for beta.

--

Jenny awoke, feeling something she thought she had lost forever a long time ago: Jethro's strong arms were holding her tightly. She recalled the last night's events: Gibbs had sort of been thrown out of his own room and had somehow ended up in her bed. Well, each of them on their own side of course, at least at first. But somehow she must have ended up in his arms during the night. And she didn't mind at all. She would enjoy this feeling as long as possible. She was sure, the minute he awoke, Gibbs wouldn't waste any time to put enough space between them, leaving no doubt that he was through with her, at least in this way. Sadly, she knew that this was her own fault and she probably deserved it.

What Jenny didn't know was that Gibbs had been long awake. He had woken up about an hour ago, when her reddish hair had tickled him. At first, he had been confused about their current entanglement, but then had decided that this just felt too good to give it up sooner than it became absolutely necessary. So, he had made the dangerous decision to stay where he was, drowning in that comfortable touch just a little bit longer. He had thought he'd banished all feelings for her, but, truth to be told, he had always known that he hadn't. He had locked them away, but somehow they always found a way to break free again and in moments like this, when they were so close, they almost became stronger than his iron will not to fall for this woman again. But the opportunity to touch her just once again was just too alluring then to let it slip away. She felt just the same as she had in Paris, all those years ago, and although she had changed her perfume, she still smelt like Jenny. His Jenny! The woman, who he had once thought to be destined to ease his nightmares about losing Shannon and Kelly and who later turned out to be his biggest disappointment. He just couldn't trust her, or himself when it came to her, because he didn't think he could endure losing her again.

Suddenly, he felt her fingers tracing along his arm and he had to use all his willpower not to react to it, not to reveal that he was wide awake, enjoying her every touch.

Jenny knew she was venturing onto dangerous grounds, but she just couldn't stop herself. She needed to feel his touch, just a little while longer, but still her fingers started drawing small circles onto his arm, knowing that she risked to wake him and then have him take away the great sensation of being in his arms again.

--

Ziva had fallen into an uncomfortable sleep around six o'clock in the morning. The nightmares, that had been haunting her for all this time now, were more intense than ever. And so, Tony found her tossing and turning when he made his way back to their room about an hour later. All the anger he had felt immediately turned into genuine concern. Rushing to her side, he quickly figured out that this was something worse than her usual nightmares. He was trying to wake her up, shaking her shoulders and calling her name, but he didn't seem to get through to her.

For the umpteenth time Ziva lived through the same scenario. Him approaching her, reaching out for her, calling her name, telling her she was just like him and nothing would change it. That she would always be a liar.

She woke startled, shouting his name, "Tony!" already dreading the knowledge that he wouldn't be there. But then, to her surprise, she felt his strong arms wrapped around her, holding her tight.

"I'm here sweetcheeks. I'm here. It's okay," he hushed, feeling her arms wrap around him, pulling him even closer.

"You're here?" she asked, still not believing it.

"I'll always be there for you," he whispered and kissed her gently on her forehead.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled into his chest, referring to her earlier behaviour.

"I know," he answered, even though he wasn't really satisfied with her apology. More than any apology, he needed an explanation. But he already knew that he wouldn't get one anytime soon. So, he just held her tight and hoped that, somehow, the ghosts of the past would disappear, allowing her to move on.

--

Abby sat at the breakfast table, wondering where all the others were. Even McGee hadn't shown up yet and in about 45 minutes Moa would be here to pick them up, so they could all drive to the T-Centralen, the Central Station of Stockholm, to take their train to Halmstad. Since Hyltebruk did not have a train station, they would first make a turn towards the west coast of Sweden to Halmstad and then would be picked up by Moa's family to drive to Hyltebruk. Abby was exited, since she'd heard that Sweden had a wonderful landscape and she was thrilled to see more of it.

Finally, McGee appeared and hurried towards the table, "Sorry, Abs, I overslept! Gibbs is going to kill me," he explained.

"Don't worry McGee, no one's here yet," Abby sighed and took another bite of her coarse rye bread with scrambled eggs.

"Where are they?" McGee asked confused.

"I don't know. I tried to call Gibbs, but he didn't answer his phone," Abby stated.

"And now?" McGee questioned.

"I don't know, we'll just wait for them to show up," Abby shrugged.

--

At the same time Jenny realized, slightly shocked, that they were running late. Running really late!

"Jethro, we need to get up!" she exclaimed, not caring if she would give herself away and reveal that she had been awake. "Moa's going to pick us up in less than forty minutes!"

Gibbs was up in a second, taken by surprise by the sudden change, wondering how long she had really been awake and if she knew he had been awake, too. He mumbled something about getting ready and packing and left her room in a rush. He left Jenny behind, more than a little confused about what had happened during the last hours.

The minute Gibbs reached his room and noticed that Tony was gone, he head-slapped himself, how could he have had let it come this far?

--

When Ziva finally let go of Tony, she wrinkled her nose, noticing that Tony smelled somehow disgusting. "Have you been drinking?"

Tony had to chuckle slightly at the memory of the last night with Bert. "Guilty as charged," he grinned, "I think I'll take a quick shower," he added.

"But hurry, we don't have much time," she reminded him.

Tony nodded and gave her a peck on the cheek, before escaping into the bathroom, humming, "Chim chiminey, Chim chiminey, Chim chim cher-ee! A sweep is as lucky, as lucky can be."

Ziva shook her head, she didn't even want to know what this was all about again.

--

Fifteen minutes later, and just in time to meet with Moa, everybody arrived in the lobby, earning inflictive glances from Abby and McGee.

"Where have you been?" Abby demanded to know.

"Overslept!" was the answer, she received from all four.

"You are all nasty liars," she stated and turned around. "I'm waiting outside. McGee?" she threw him a glance.

"Coming Abs," he called out and rushed to her side, leaving the others behind, dumbfounded.

"What was that about?" Ducky asked strolling into the lobby. He had used the last day in Stockholm to take an early morning walk.

"I guess it's the lack of Caff-Pow," Tony offered.

Shortly after, when they all finally stepped into the September morning sun, Moa and Diego joined them.

"So, I hope you are all ready for tågluffar?" Moa exclaimed exited, looking into questioning faces. "That means train riding," she quickly explained and grinned.

And thirty minutes later they all sat in the train to Halstad, anxious to see Moa's hometown.


	11. Meet the parents!

Hey folks, on we go. This chapter is so far the longest. I hope you enjoy it. I'll promise to reaveal what's going on with Ziva in the next chapter!

_Congratulations to Spain on winning the EURO 08. You played the best tournament and you were the far better team in the final. No one deserved more to win than you guys! See 2010 in South Africa!_

Thanks to **rednebdnim** for beta, he's really my hero!

--

The train ride would take about three and a half hours and Abby more or less clung to the window, taking in the wide and deserted Swedish landscape. For miles they wouldn't see anything but wide plains, woods, lakes and fields. It was indeed a beautiful country.

Gibbs and Jenny hadn't spoken to each other since they had left the hotel and Ducky had noticed with concern that something must have happened. He was sitting alongside Gibbs in the on-board restaurant, drinking coffee, studying his old friend carefully.

"Jethro, may I ask if there's something wrong between you and the director?"

Gibbs placed his coffee cup back on the table and looked at Ducky, "Why do you ask?"

"Well, it seems that there has been some kind of tension between the two of you since this morning."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Ducky," Gibbs said, shaking his head and silently cursing himself.

"Ah, sure you don't," Ducky shrugged off the topic. "You know our time in Stockholm reminded me of an incident I experienced some twenty years ago in Copenhagen."

Gibbs rolled his eyes, but had no choice but to listen to his friend's endless story about a lost purse and a short lived love affair with a Danish woman. Although, the thought of Ducky having a short lived love affair disturbed him somewhat.

--

Jenny was sitting alone, staring out the window, but not seeing any of the beauty that laid on the other side. Jethro hadn't talked to her all day and she didn't know what to do about it. She was pulled from her thoughts when Abby shrieked, "Look, McGee! Moose!"

Everyone rushed over to Abby's side of the train and stared in amazement as the train raced by some moose that stood on a grass plain.

"Aren't they beautiful?" Abby stated in awe and smiled brightly, looking at Moa.

"Yes, they are," Moa approved and smiled back at Abby, then turned to Diego, giving him a peck on the cheek and pulling him close, "If you're lucky, Abby, you'll get the chance to see them every morning from your room at my parents house."

"You're kidding me!" Abby exclaimed.

Moa laughed, "No! And not only moose, but reindeer, also."

"Did you hear that, McGee!" Abby was getting even more exited.

"Yes, I did," McGee grinned, always being surprised at how Abby could get this exited about the craziest things.

--

Ziva was the first to return to her seat, her thoughts drifting back to her early morning nightmare. She looked at Tony, he had his back turned to her, still leaning across Abby's seat, looking out the windows, having some kind of verbal battle with McGee about God knows what.

How lucky she was to have him. And while she knew she should trust him, yet she still couldn't bring herself to do it, she couldn't tell him anything of this. There always was the chance he wouldn't understand and she just couldn't risk that. Right from the beginning of their relationship she should have known that this deeply buried matter would come to haunt her.

When Tony realized she was looking at him, he sat back down and smiled at her, "Are you okay?"

She forced herself to return his smile and nodded, because right now she just didn't trust her voice not to give away her true state of mind.

--

The rest of the journey passed by quickly and they reached Halmstad at 01:30. Moa was the first to jump off the train, her eyes scanning the platform for her parents.

"Mamma! Pappa!" she exclaimed and ran towards an elder couple.

"Älskling! Hur mår du? Är du okay?" her father asked, obviously still worried after all that had happened.

"Jag är bra, pappa. Jag är mycket bra!" Moa reassured him and turned to her mother who was crying.

"Mamma, slutar med gråten!" she smiled at her mother and hugged her tightly.

Then she turned towards the others, "Mamma, pappa these are my friends from America: Tony, Ziva, McGee, Abby, Dr. Mallard, Jenny Shepard and Jethro Gibbs. Friends from America," she grinned, "These are my parents: Gunilla and Åke."

Moa's parents welcomed everyone warmly and finally Gunilla stood in front of Abby and, to her surprise, hugged her tightly, "So, you are Abby! Moa told us so much about you!" she simply stated and Abby couldn't help herself to hug her back, already knowing that she would love Moa's family as much as she did love Moa.

Meanwhile, Åke was hugging Diego nearly to death, "How are you son?" he asked.

"I'm good Åke," Diego coughed and helped his soon-to-be father-in-law to load everybody's luggage into the bus.

"Moa!" Åke called out to his daughter, "Tittar vem är här!"

Moa turned towards her father and shrieked when she saw who was climbing out of the driver's seat. "Klaas!" she exclaimed and threw her arms around the young man.

"Titta bara! You're handsome. Isn't he handsome?" Moa looked at the others. "This is my cousin, Klaas," she introduced him, "and by now probably the most wanted man in Hallands län," she grinned at him and then gave him a peck on the cheek.

--

Fifteen minutes later they were finally on the road and on their way to Hytlebruk. The trip would take them about an hour and Moa's parents had already engaged half the team into a wild discussion about their visit to Sweden and their life's back home. They wanted to know everything about everyone. It didn't take the team long to understand why Moa had become the person she was. Her parents seemed to be the most caring, warm and gentle people in the world. They made everybody feel at home, already.

Gibbs and Åke soon discovered their shared passion for boats and Åke immediately suggested to take Gibbs on a cruise with his yacht on the next day. Gibbs agreed willingly, as long as he could escape the 'young chattering people'.

"Mamma, var är Karin?" Moa asked her mother.

"Oh hon är hemma med Finn," Gunilla answered.

"Karin is my sister and Finn is her son," Moa explained to the others, "I told Finn so much about all of you and he really is exited to meet you guys. There are only two policemen in Hyltebruk and all their stories combined are probably told in less than half an hour."

--

When they finally arrived at their destination, they were flabbergasted by the property that laid ahead. The Bengtson's estate was right outside the small town of Hyltebruk, still it seemed to be isolated from the rest of the world.

"This is were you grew up?" Abby exclaimed wide-eyed.

"Yupp, that's my home," Moa replied with a smile, but that smile quickly faded. Since she had moved to Stockholm she hadn't been able to spend as much time at home as she wanted. She looked at the old birch tree, where she used to play on the swings with her brother. All these years ago, when they still were a happy family, before that horrible tragedy happened that had taken away her brother and changed all their lives forever. As happy as they all might seem on the surface, they were broken when it came to the matter of Reuben, the son, brother, cousin and uncle they had lost. She knew that this was the reason she had this strange connection with Gibbs, although she had found a different way to live with the pain. She felt someone squeeze her hand and when she looked up, her eyes were met by her father's, who knew exactly where her mind had wandered. She gave him a reassuring smile, trying to shake off those dark thoughts.

"Well, folks. Welcome to Villa Bengtson! I think we'll let you unpack and then I'll give you a tour," Moa suggested and led them into the big farm house that looked as if Pippi Longstocking would emerge from it any minute. It was a big, brightly yellow painted, wooden house with white windows and a porch which reached all the way around. To the left and right of the main house there were two smaller premises which housed a stable and a garage.

Moa led them trough the big hall and guided them up the stairs. When they reached the second floor, they were greeted by a fluffy bundle of fur.

"Tino! Sweety," Moa knelt down and the dog immediately jumped at her, licking her face and obviously more than happy to see her.

"What is that?" Tony asked, trying to distinguish what was under all that fur.

"That's Tino, the best dog in the world!" Moa stated patting Tino's head.

"Yes, but what is it?" Tony asked again.

"Oh, he's a Border-Collie/Bobtail-Mix," Moa grinned.

"That's what comes out of it?" Tony couldn't believe it. This fur-ball looked liked a mixture of a raccoon and a Yeti. Tony chose to just accept this and patted the friendly guy gently on the head, just like the others had done. At least it was not the dogs fault. Abby, on the other hand, had fallen in love the minute she had seen the creature, and now was hugging it, calling his name to make him follow her.

Abby and McGee were the first to get settled into their rooms, which were located directly next to each other. Ducky and Gibbs' rooms were on the other side of the corridor while Jenny's room was further down. Tony and Ziva were the last to follow to be shown to their room. Moa led them up another set of stairs, now they were right below the roof. Meanwhile, Tino was staying with his new best friend: Abby.

"Wow," was all Tony and Ziva could say when they entered the lovely room. A look out of the window presented them with a beautiful view of the area that laid behind the house and also the small lake that was adjacent to the property.

"Is this the honeymoon suite?" Tony asked grinning.

"You may call it that," Moa laughed and turned to leave, "I'll meet you downstairs in about thirty minutes."

--

Thirty minutes later everybody had gathered in the hall and now were introduced to Moa's sister Karin and her eight-year old son Finn. Her husband Filip worked for a Norwegian Oil Company. He worked on an offshore platform in the North Sea and would only come back home one day prior to the wedding. Finn was the allegory of the perfect Swedish child, blond, blue eyed and sporting a gorgeous smile that rivalled Tony's.

Karin leaned down to her son and asked, "Do you want to go with tant Moa and show her friends around?"

Finn looked from his mother towards his aunt and then to the strangers standing in front of him. He seemed to consider the offer, finally he nodded and took Moa's hand.

"Bra," Karin smiled, "then I'm going to help mamma with dinner preparations," and with that she was gone.

--

Finn clung to his aunt and studied the new faces carefully, while they were making way to the stables. Moa showed them the four horses that her family owned and then guided them to the rear of the house. When they walked around the house the beautiful, little lake came into view again. There was a big pattio right next to it. They continued on a small path which led them into a forest. Suddenly the seemingly shy Finn let go of Moa's hand and, to everyone's surprise, took a hold of Tony's hand, motioning him towards something, "I want to show you my tree house," he exclaimed exited and dragged Tony with him.

"Well, that's new," Moa said surprised. "Normally it takes him quite a while to bond with new people."

"And it's definitely new, that it's Tony," Ziva grinned.

"Yes, usually Gibbs is the one who's good with kids," Abby agreed. When she realized that Gibbs glared at her, she quickly smiled back at him and soon his features relaxed. He never could stay mad at her for very long,

Gibbs smirked and followed Finn and Tony into the woods.

Finn had already climbed up the tree and sat on the platform, watching Tony climbing into the tree, following him.

"Wow, did you built this on your own?" Tony asked.

"Nej, with my pappa," Finn stated proudly. "Pappa said; When he's away and I want to be near him. I should get up here. It's our favourite place."

"I can see why," Tony nodded and sat down beside him, admiring the view. He could see a lake in the distance, probably the one where Moa's father's boat laid. He knew how it was to have a father who barely spend any time at home, but other than his own father, Finn's father seemed to try to give his son as much love as possible. He had never shared an experience like this with his father and he promissed himself that he would not make the same mistakes with his own children.

"Is the pretty girl your girlfriend?" Finn asked curious.

"Ziva? Yes, she's my girlfriend. You think she's pretty?" Tony asked grinning.

Finn nodded empathic, "Very pretty!"

Tony leaned towards Finn and whispered, "I think so too."

"What are you guys doing up there?" Ziva shouted as the rest of the group approached the tree house.

"Admiring the view!" Tony winked at Finn, who started to giggle, knowing what Tony referred to.

'Smart Kid' Tony thought and followed Finn down the tree again.

Svenska Lesson:

Älskling! Hur mår du? Är du okay?" - Honey, how are you? Are you okay?

Jag är bra, pappa. Jag är mycket bra!" - I'm fine, dad. I'm very good!

"Mamma, slutar med gråten!" - Mom, stop crying!

Tittar vem är här!" - Look who we got here!

Tittar bara - Look at you

Mamma, var är Karin?" - Mom where is Karin?

"Oh hon är hemma med Finn," - At home with Finn


	12. Fear

Hej guys, sorry for the delay. Work is like crazy right now.

Heres the betaed version.

I have to admit I find it hard to finish this. I have a whole new story already on my mind. But I know I have to focus! I'll do my best.

Enjoy.

--

With all the wedding preparations going on and the constant arrival of new guests, family and friends, the next few days went by in a rush. The house had been in a state of controlled chaos, which the Bengtson's somehow managed to keep from spinning completely out of control while still having an open ear for everyone's concerns and ideas.

The team had met quite a few of Moa's cousins, uncles, aunts and friends. Diego's family and friends would arrive the day after tomorrow and he was quite occupied with talking to them on the phone. Gibbs and Åke tried to stay out of the women's way and spent most of their time on Åke's boat, drinking one hell of a home-made booze. Ducky had merely been seen, since he got up early in the morning and went on long hiking tours in search of red deer, since Moa had had to admit that there actually weren't any reindeer in Hyltebruk. McGee befriended himself with Klaas, who eagerly absorbed everything McGee told him about computers, cyber-space or anything related to it. They spent most of the day in front of Klaas' computer.

Abby kept getting more and more exited and her anticipation finally reached the boiling point when Moa asked her to be one of her bridesmaids. Since that morning Abby had been rummaging through her clothes, desperately trying to find something she could wear. Also, she had decided that Moa's suggestion: 'Anything you'd like, Abby!' hadn't made her decision any easier.

"Crap, who thought that getting to choose any outfit I'd like would prove to be this much trouble? What do you think, Ziva? Do you like this one or maybe the other one?" Abby held up two skirts, waiting for a reaction from Ziva, who sat at the window and staring into the garden.

"Ziva!?" Abby tried again.

"Mmh?" Ziva turned around and looked at Abby, obviously having no idea what she was talking about.

"What's so thrilling out there?" Abby asked curiously and threw the skirts onto the bed. She walked up to Ziva, and also looked out the window.

"Oh, I see!" she nodded knowingly, "Tony and Finn, aren't they cute? I mean, who'd have thought that Tony could be this good with children? We all knew that Gibbs is good with them, but Tony, that's a surprise!" Abby kept on rambling, all the time not noticing how Ziva stiffened when she heard her words. "But they're so cute together!" Abby shrieked, clapping her hands, bouncing up and down, causing her pig tails to bounce along.

After a while Abby became quiet for a moment, smiling down on Tony, who was chasing Finn throughout the garden, while he was laughing hysterically.

"You two will be great parents," she suddenly said. "Oh and your children will be so sweet!" she exclaimed.

Meanwhile, Tony had caught Finn and was swirling him through the air. He noticed Ziva, sitting in the window. He set Finn down and knelt behind him, pointing towards her.

"There's Ziva," he whispered into Finn's ear, who immediately looked up and waved at her. Tony's and Ziva's eyes met for a second but that was all it took for Tony to realize that something was bothering her.

"Excuse me," Ziva said hastyly and hurried out of Abby's room.

"Ziva?!" Abby called after her, but Ziva was gone. Abby grinned, thinking she probably would be on her way to Tony.'

Tony had watched her reaction worried. She had been strangely quiet the last days. There had been no fights, no disagreements, nothing. But she had barely spoken a word and he could not shake the feeling that she was drifting away from him.

--

Twenty minutes later Tony was following Finn into the kitchen. They found Karin and Moa, sitting at the kitchen table.

"Finn!" Karin warned her son. "Tony isn't here only to entertain you!"

"It's fine Karin," Tony waved her off. "We're both having fun, don't we?" Tony said, ruffling Finn's hair.

Karin smiled, "Thank you, Tony!"

Tony smiled. "You're more than welcome. But now you'll have to excuse me, I wanted to look after Ziva. I'll see you later, Finn," he winked at the boy.

"I bet we will!" Finn grinned.

Tony still was amazed at how good Finn's English was. The boy hardly had any problems understanding him and also always found a way to tell Tony what he wanted. But then again, the two probably would have understood each other even without words. Finn had told Tony, that he reminded him of his father and Tony was looking forward to meet the man who was blessed with such a great son.

--

Tony climbed up the stairs and knocked on Abby's door.

"Hey Abs, is Ziva with you?" he asked through the door, which opened only seconds later, revealing Abby's surprised face.

She opened her door a little more to let Tony in. "I thought she is with you?"

"Heh?" Tony gave her a questioning look.

"She, more or less, stormed out of here, when we watched you with Finn."

Tony frowned. "Mmh, maybe she went up to our room. I'll go and check. Thanks Abs!" He left and headed for the staircase at the end of the corridor, humming while he climbed up the stairs.

"Ziva?" Tony said before he opened the door and looked around, scanning the room for her.

The room was empty, which confused Tony. 'Where'd she go?' He thought. Just as he was about to leave, his eyes stopped on the open closet. He walked over to it, not wanting to believe his eyes! All of Ziva's clothes were gone! Tony went on to check all the drawers, but found every single one empty, too.

"What?!" Tony said to himself, "What's going on here?"

He took out his phone and dialled her number, but her phone was turned off.

"This isn't happening!" He exclaimed, while he stormed down the stairs, heading for the kitchen, looking for Moa.

When Tony burst into the kitchen Moa looked at Tony, baffled by his sudden appearance. "Tony? What happened?" she asked.

"She's gone!" he exclaimed.

"Who?" Moa asked as she got up and walked over to Tony, reaching for his shaking arm.

"Ziva!"

Moa gave him a puzzled look.

"All her clothes are gone! Her phone is switched off. I don't know where she is," Tony looked desperate.

"Okay, calm down and sit!" Moa urged him.

"When was the last time you saw her?" Moa asked, guiding him towards a chair.

"I don't know, maybe 25 to 30 minutes ago. She was with Abby," Tony sighed.

"What happened?" Diego asked as he came into the kitchen and immediately sensed that something was quite wrong.

"Ziva disappeared," Moa explained quickly.

"I just saw her," Diego stated surprised.

"Where?" Tony jumped up.

"On the track to the main road."

"When?" Moa asked her soon to be husband.

"Maybe 20 minutes ago," Diego shrugged.

"Okay, I think I have an idea where she might have gone," she patted Tony on the shoulder. "You better wait here. I'll try to find out what happened," and with that Moa was gone.

--

Ziva sat in the last row of the bus that brought her steadily away from her worries, or at least so she thought. She knew that it was wrong to just pick up and run away, but Abby's words had hit something deep down inside her and she had panicked, something that was extremely unlike her. Other people might panic, but not Ziva David, the Mossad agent. She was not allowed to panic! It was just out of the question! And still, here she was, crawled up in the back seat of this bus. She had run away like a little girl. She hated herself for that. She hated herself for doing this to Tony. He did not deserve this. But still her feet had carried her away and into this bus that was heading back to Halmstad, where she would catch the next train to Göteborg and from there a flight back to the States. She knew that she would have to explain herself to Gibbs, the director and most of all to Tony, but she just couldn't deal with this right now, she would deal with it tomorrow. Tears started to fall down, when she thought about the movie-quote that Tony would probably pull out now. 'I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about it tomorrow.'

Ziva hadn't noticed that the young man driving the bus had been talking on his phone. But it wouldn't have mattered anyway, since she didn't speak any Swedish.

When the bus pulled over, Ziva didn't pay any attention, thinking that they most likely were picking up some more passengers. She also did not notice the figure that entered the bus and spoke a few words with the driver, before she approached her.

"Ziva?"

Ziva's looked up, "Moa!"

"Care to tell me what happened?" Moa asked gently.

"Do I have a choice?" Ziva replied, her voice laced with sarcasm.

"No," was Moa's plain answer, totally ignoring Ziva snapping at her.

Unwillingly Ziva got up and followed Moa off the bus. The young man had already placed her luggage in the trunk of Moa's Volvo.

"So, you are going to force me to go back?" Ziva asked bitterly, sniffing away the tears.

"We both know that I can hardly do that," Moa stated. "All I want to do is talk. If you still want to go after that, I'll drive you to Helmstad myself."

Ziva nodded and followed Moa into the forest, sitting down on a toppled over tree.

"So, why did you go?" Moa asked, throwing some sticks into the grass.

Ziva stiffened, how could she talk to Moa about all this? She hardly knew her, but then again, she had helped her and Tony before, maybe she was the only one who would understand?

"I don't know. I have this feeling," Ziva gave it a try.

"You're afraid," Moa specified it.

"I'm not afraid!" Ziva wanted to protest.

Moa lay her hand on Ziva's arm. "It's okay to be afraid, Ziva."

"Not where I come from," Ziva laughed bitterly.

"Is that what this is all about?" Moa asked carefully, sensing what the problem might be.

Ziva sighed heavily, trying to breathe the tears away that impended to fall down again.

"Maybe," she hesitated.

"Ziva, I'm not going to say that I know what it's like to grow up in Israel or what they forced into you at Mossad, because I don't. But I know that if you don't find a way to talk about it, it will consume you."

"I know. It's just, Tony seems to be so sure about all of this."

"And that's a bad thing?" Moa asked.

"It scares me," there, she had said it. She had admitted that she was scared.

Moa just nodded.

"Don't get me wrong! I'll love him more than anything in the world."

"I know."

"But I was not brought up for this. I was not raised to have a future or to have a chance to have a family and I lived with that for 26 years. But then I came to NCIS and met Tony. Suddenly, I just might have the chance to live a normal life, to start a family. But how do I know if I can do that. That I'm not screwing this up."

"You don't," Moa just said, "No one does. There are no guarantees. Not for you and Tony, not for me and Diego. All you can do is to try and give our best everyday."

For the first time Ziva looked at Moa, who continued, "I have the same fears: What if it doesn't work out? What if we can't make it work forever?"

"So, what do you do?" Ziva asked.

"I look at Diego," Moa smiled, "and then I know that he's worth it. What ever might come, he's definitely worth trying. We are worth trying,"

"Yeah, but still," Ziva was not sure.

"There's more?" Moa asked.

"Finn."

"What about Finn?"

"The way Tony behaves around him," Ziva's reply was almost a whisper.

Moa smiled, "He's going to be a great dad." she felt Ziva getting tense and looked at her. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No! You're right. He's going to be a great dad."

"But?"

"What if I'm not going to be a good mother?"

Moa took Ziva's hand in hers and forced her to look into her eyes. "Believe me, Ziva, no one knows that. Good moms don't just fall out of the sky. My mamma always said: you grow while you do it. And, by the way, I think you're going to be a great mom."

"You think?" Ziva asked.

Moa nodded emphatic. Ziva was silent for a while; there was still something else on her mind.

"Tony loves you. And is it really so bad if you let him take the lead just for awhile?"

"No, I think I can do that."

"But you should talk to him about all of this. He's really worried."

Ziva sighed, "I know."

"Good. So where do you wanna go? Helmstad or Hyltebruk?"

"Tony!"


	13. Trust

Hej guys, sorry again for the delay. But work hasn't slowed down at all.

My beta is out of town at the moment so all mistakes are mine and there are probably some, because it's late and I'm tired. Just saw the new X-Files movies. Ah good memories of the past. And now I'm thinking about and NCIS/X-Files Crossover.

But first I'll will finish this story, hopefully by next week.

--

Tony sat on the jetty beside Åke's yacht, throwing pebbles into the lake. He stared at the opposite bank, thinking about what went wrong and what had made her run away from him.

He sensed someone sitting down at his sight and he knew that it was Gibbs. He was more than ready for his accusations, because Tony had no doubt that Gibbs would blame him for what happened. But he didn't care, Gibbs should bark at him as much as he wanted, he didn't care.

"How are you?" Gibbs asked.

Tony looked up surprised, "What?"

"How are you?" Gibbs repeated himself, taking one of the pebbles and tossing it somewhere into the deep blue waters.

Tony sighed, "She promised not to leave!"

"I know, they tend to do that," Gibbs laughed sarcastically.

"Boss?" Tony stared at Gibbs.

"Ah, nothing. Just old memories." Gibbs sighed, "She loves you DiNozzo."

"Sure, that explains her running away!" Tony stated bitterly.

"I think there's a lot to figure out for her. The past … the future… ."

"She could have talk to me."

"You should know that this is easier said than done."

Tony nodded, he knew.

"She'll come back. Trust me," Gibbs said while getting up and patting Tony on the shoulder.

"I hope you're right, boss!"

--

Ducky had no idea of the events some miles from his location, while he was once again on one of his hiking tours through the forest. He had been wandering for hours enjoying every minute of it, when he finally reached a small lake, hidden in the dark green of the woods.

"Now this is definitely worth it," he said to himself, before he sat down at a large stone, pulling off his shoes and socks and letting his feet sink into the cold waters.

He was about to take a quick nap, when he heard something not far away from him. He turned slowly to see what had caused the rustling of the leaves. Stepping out of some bushes was a moose, which seemed not to be disturbed by Ducky's presence.. He stepped into the water to drink and Ducky carefully opened his backpack to pull out his camera.

"Now if this isn't the perfect Sweden memory," he whispered and took his pictures, before the moose disappeared again.

"Thank you my friend," Ducky called out after him, before he made his way back to the Bengtsson property.

--

Ziva got out of the car and took a deep breath. She had come back with Moa that had been the easy part, the hard one was yet to come.

"I'll take care of your baggage," Moa told her, "You go and find Tony."

Ziva nodded and made her way around the house, nearly bumping into Gibbs.

A small smile appeared on Gibbs face when he saw who had tried to push her way around him.

"He's at the lake," he just said, gesturing behind him.

"Thanks," Ziva said and hurried away.

--

Tony hadn't moved and was till throwing pebbles, when he again sensed someone standing behind him.

"Is there more you want to tell me, boss?" he asked without turning around.

"There's a lot more I want to tell you!" Ziva answered, which caused Tony to swirl around.

"Ziva!?" he didn't trust his eyes.

She nodded and stepped towards him, "Listen Tony. I'm sorry! I really am!"

"It's okay," he said bitterly.

"No, it's not. But I would like to explain it," Ziva sighed.

Tony didn't react, he was not going to make this easy for her. She had to offer him some trust if she wanted him to understand her and Ziva realized that Tony was not giving her an opening for her story. She was on her own this time.

"Okay," she acknowledged and sat down beside him, carefully to give him enough space.

Tony still was throwing pebbles into the lake, not looking at her, although he felt her eyes fixed on him.

"You know, this is all a lot harder for me than I expected," she started, still waiting for him to show some kind of reaction, but she obviously had to offer him more. "Look, I was not brought up to live a life like normal people do. To have a family, children, a future with someone. I was brought up to be an assassin, to make my father and my country proud. And I guess not many people expected me to become much older than thirty. But than NCIS came and with it a chance of a future."

Tony now gave her a quick glance. He had to admit he had never thought about it this way.

"And than you and me happened. And beside a future, you offered me a chance for a family..."

"And children," Tony added, "But is that a bad thing?"

"No! It just scares the hell out of me!" she admitted for the second time this day. "I always thought you were not too much into this. Having a family, having children. But you seem so sure about all of this, about us. I guess I hadn't expected it."

"I don't understand?" Tony looked at her. "Sure I never acted like a family guy, but I guess the reason is that I hadn't found someone I wanted to have a family with."

"And now you have?" Ziva knew the answer, but still had to ask.

"You damn know I have! But don't tell me, I pushed you about one of these topics!" he was getting offended now. She wouldn't turn this on him.

"No! I don't. But as I said I was scared. I am used to take the lead to have everything under control. If you loose control where I come from, you die."

"You're not in Israel anymore, Ziva! This is not about Mossad. This is about us!" Tony exaggerated.

"I know, I know," she tried to reassure him, "I realized that too. And I guess that I have to learn to let you take the lead for awhile."

"Heh?!" Tony wasn't sure he had got that one right.

"Don't look at me like that," Ziva smiled. "But you have to be patient. I have to get used to all of this. And I need more time."

Tony looked at her and caressed her cheek, "We'll take all the time you want. We're taking this step by step," he said, looking into her the eyes. "But you have to promise me one thing."

"Yes?" Ziva frowned at him.

"The next time you come and talk to me. No running away."

Ziva smiled and nodded, "I promise no more running away."

"Good!" Tony flashed her a smile before he leant into her, her lips merely touching, when Ziva suddenly pulled away.

"There's one more thing I have to tell you!"


	14. Fresh Starts

I'm sorry guys. Life's so busy at the moment! This is a short one. There's one more to come!

--

Tony flinched, he had had the feeling that there was more to come and, he tried to brace himself for what ever that might bemight come.

Ziva was unsure how to start, but she also knew she had to tell him the truth, if she wanted this relationship to work.

"It's about Ari," she finally got out and immediately felt Tony shifting away from her. She had expected this reaction and knew she had to go on quickly.

"I …," she didn't know how to say it. She knew that what she did had beenwas the right thing to do. She saved Gibbs life, but others might only see that she killed her brother.

"Ziva," Tony reached for her hand, "You don't have to apologize for your brother. I know you're not like him."

"I'm not so sure about that," Ziva whispered.

"What are you talking about?" Tony was getting more and more worried.

"I killed Ari!" she finally exclaimed, turning away from him.

"What?" Tony grabbed her shoulder and turned her around, "But it was Gibbs who shot him in the basement, right?"

"No!" Ziva got out, tears running down her face, "It was me. I was there that night. And I shot him. I shot my brother."

She had tried to prepared herself for Tony's reaction, h. Had expected him to be disgusted by her actions, but instead of all that Tony wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

"You saved Gibbs life!" he simply stated.

"I killed my brother," Ziva repeated.

"You had no choice, no one will judge you for that. Definitely not me. You're not like your brother."

Ziva let out a sigh of relief and buried her head into his chest. Those that were the words she had so desperately needed to hear from him.

"You're not angry about me not telling you?" She asked.

"Nah, I guess it had to be that way. But I'm glad you told me now. Are you Feeling better?," Tony forced her to look at him and received her first full hearted smile in weeks.

"Yeah, definitely feeling better," her smile grew even wider when she reached for his cheek and kissed him gently. "I think I need to unpack my stuff," Ziva said and turned to leave.

"Mind if I give you a hand?" Tony asked.

"Not at all," Ziva winked and took his hand, pulling him with her.

--

Gibbs watched Tony and Ziva returning to the house, hand in hand, both smiling brightly.

"Are they okay?"

Gibbs turned around to find Jenny standing behind him. She stepped at his sight looking at something in the distance.

"They're going to be," Gibbs answered her question.

They were silent for a moment, both lost in their thoughts.

"Are we ever going to be okay?" Jen asked, not looking at him.

Gibbs sighed and turned towards her, looking at her carefully, giving his answer a lot of thought.

"There was a time when I thought that it would not be possible," he saw Jenny tense and continued, "but lately …," he hesitated and then smiled at her, "Yes, I think we're going to be okay."

Jenny turned and looked at him a sincere look on her face, "I'm sorry Jethro."

"For what?" he asked slightly irritated.

"For the wrong decision I made back then. I know now that it was wrong. I should have given us a chance."

"Yes, you should have done that."

"I'm sorry," Jen repeated.

Gibbs caressed her cheek, "Me too, Jenny. Me too." And with that he left.


	15. Jag vill

Okay guys, here's the last chapter and I apologize for it in advance. I rewrote it about 5 times and I still don't like it. But I had to finsh this story somehow or I would have never done it.

So thanks for reading this little Svedish adventure!! I hope you still enjoy the end and I promise to do better with my next story!

Lorelai

Thanks to rednebdenim for beta!

--

Diego stood nervously in front of the aisle, checking his watch every minute or so.

"Relax Diego, they have thirty minutes until they're expected," Tony grinned and patted the other man on the shoulder. "Come on, have a seat. You don't have to run around like a nervous chicken."

Diego did as he was told and took the seat by Tony's side. The rest of the wedding party was loosely spread around the church. Diego's mother had stayed with the girls at the Bengtsson's house. Diego's father stood on the gallery, smiling down at his son, while his brother tried to flirt with one of Moa's friends.

"So, you and Ziva are fine?" He asked to distract himself.

"Yeah," Tony nodded, "We had a long talk. I think we're on the right way now. But I don't want to think about what would have happened if Moa hadn't follow her."

"Oh, she would have come back anyway," Diego smiled. "It might have taken her a little bit longer, but she would have come back."

"How do you know?" Tony frowned.

"She loves you," Diego simply stated and turned around, because he noticed Gibbs, Ducky, McGee and Jenny approaching.

He got up and shook hands with them, while Jenny told him that Ziva had called just a minute ago telling her that they were on their way. This was all it took to make Diego nervous again and he headed towards the restrooms.

"You know how that feels, don't you?" Tony laughed at Gibbs, but immediately stopped when he received one of Gibbs death glares.

"It looses the thrill after the second time," Gibbs smirked and took his seat in the row.

"So you're not getting married again, boss?" McGee asked foolishly.

"What do you want, McGee?" Gibbs shot his glare now at him.

"Eh, nothing, boss!" McGee backed off.

"I thought so," Gibbs grumbled.

--

Finally Ziva and Abby appeared with the bride's and groom's mothers. Tony kissed Ziva on the cheek, while signalling her to take the seat next to him, "You look gorgeous!" He whispered while taking another good look at her dark purple dress, with the deep V-line.

"Wait until you see the bride!" Ziva smiled sitting down. "She radiates."

This was the keyword for the church doors to open and everyone turned around to see Moa guided down the aisle by her father. Diego's face lit up, when he saw her coming towards him, all the nervousness suddenly gone.

Moa wore a simple white dress, that just looked perfect on her. A dress which normally wouldn't cause anyone to turn theirs heads. But on her it shined.

The ceremony was mostly in Swedish, with some Spanish influences, so only Ziva and Tony understood parts of it. But the emotions on Moa's and Diego's faces said more than a thousand words. And everybody understood clearly what they promised each other by saying: 'Jag vill'!

And when the pastor finally allowed Diego to kiss the bride, the whole church started to cheer.

--

Later that day, after an opulent dinner, Moa and Diego opened the dance to a waltz version of Dancing Queen and shortly after the dance floor was filled with many happy couples.

"You know, it really has been too long since I last took a dance," Ducky suddenly stated and left the table.

"Where did he go?" Jenny asked after a while.

"I think he hooked up with one of Moa's aunts," Tony grinned and pointed towards Ducky who swayed an older lady over the dance floor.

"Oh yes, he's still got it," Gibbs smirked.

--

"And, are you happy?" Diego asked, while swaying them through the room.

"Yes, I am," Moa answered, "And I think everyone else is happy too!" She added, looking around at all the happy people around them.

"Yeah, especially our mothers," Diego laughed.

"Gosh, I hope they calm down someday," Moa joined in.

"Eventually," Diego grinned and swirled her around one last time. "I got another surprise for you."

"Another?" Moa frowned. "And what is it?"

"Just turn around!" Diego commanded and Moa did as told.

There on the small stage in front of the band stood…

"Michael Bublé?!" Moa shrieked.

"Woah! Already forgot about me?" Diego asked still smiling.

She slapped him playfully on the arm, "How could I? But how did you do this?"

"He was in one of my concerts last year and I just asked him and he said; yes," Diego explained.

"Moa, Diego!" Michael turned their attention towards him and now also the other guests recognized who actually had climbed on stage. "I'm glad to be here today and I wish the two of you all the best. Diego has asked me to sing a special song for you," he nodded knowingly towards Diego and signalled the band to begin.

_I've been searching a long time  
For someone exactly like you  
I've been travelling all around the world  
Waiting for you to come through.  
Someone like you makes it  
All worth while  
Someone like you keeps  
Me satisfied. someone exactly  
Like you._

Tony pulled Ziva up from her chair and guided her towards the dance floor. And one by one the rest of the guests filled the dance floor to dance along with Moa's and Diego's song.

"It does not only fit them," Ziva stated, her head resting on Tony's chest, while slowly dancing to the music.

"No, it almost seems as if it was written for us," Tony smiled.

_I've been travellin a hard road  
Lookin for someone exactly like you  
I've been carryin my heavy load  
Waiting for the light to come  
Shining through.  
Someone like you makes it  
All worth while  
Someone like you keeps  
Me satisfied. someone exactly  
Like you._

_I've been doin some soul searching  
To find out where youre at  
I've been up and down the highway  
In all kinds of foreign lands  
Someone like you... etc._

_I've been all around the world  
Marching to the beat of a different  
Drum.  
But just lately I have  
Realised  
The best is yet to come.  
__Someone like you._

- Fin-


End file.
